Traffic on the international E-79 road in the area of Montana is restricted to one lane because a minibus involved in a serious crash overnight is being removed. Traffic is being regulated by teams from the Traffic Police.
“Traffic is moving in one lane, and traffic is being regulated by teams from the Traffic Police,” Montana Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior Director Commissioner Marian Bozhinov told BTA.
The accident occurred at around 11:00 p.m. in the area of the turnoff for the municipal solid waste landfill near Montana. According to the Montana Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, the trailer of a truck with Hungarian registration entered the lane for oncoming traffic and successively struck two minibuses with Turkish registration.
The driver of the first minibus died at the scene. He was a 35-year-old man from Topolovgrad who held Bulgarian and Turkish citizenship. The driver of the second minibus is 38 years old, a Turkish citizen, and has been admitted to a hospital in Montana with injuries that are not life-threatening.
The heavy goods vehicle was removed from the road at around 5:30 a.m., but the struck minibus remained by the roadside. The restriction was introduced so that the vehicle could be removed and the clearing operations in the area could be completed, Commissioner Bozhinov explained.
Because of the crash, the E-79 was completely closed from 11:00 p.m. until 5:45 a.m. Heavy goods vehicles waited at the scene, while passenger cars were diverted along alternative routes through Krivodol, Varshets and Berkovitsa.
The driver of the Hungarian truck has been detained for 24 hours by police order. According to the Montana Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, expert examinations are forthcoming to establish the causes of the crash and the speed at which the vehicles were travelling.