The investigation into the serious crash on the Trakia Motorway, in which 12 people were killed this week, is continuing along all possible lines. It cannot be ruled out that several people may be charged, but it is also possible that the proceedings will conclude without a single defendant. This was stated to journalists by Yasen Todorov, an investigator with the National Investigation Service.
“I am working on absolutely all versions. There is no leading version until one of them is ruled out,” Todorov said.
He explained that the necessary documentation for commissioning the road construction and automotive technical examinations was still being collected. Before the automotive technical examination, several technical examinations will also be carried out to extract information from various devices.
Regarding the truck driver, who was reported to have been released, Todorov clarified that at this stage there was not enough evidence to charge him.
“This means that at the moment there is not enough evidence collected against him for charges to be brought and for him to be made a defendant. Nothing is ruled out from this point on. I am not saying whether he will or will not become a defendant,” the investigator said.
He stressed that the course of the investigation depended on the evidence gathered and the identification of any persons who might be responsible.
“It may conclude without a defendant, but it may also conclude with several defendants,” Todorov added.
According to him, if sufficient data is collected that certain individuals have committed a culpable transport-related crime, they will be charged as defendants. If the evidence is insufficient, this will not happen.
The investigator also appealed to citizens for assistance, stressing that investigators were looking for witnesses and gathering information about the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
“They are being sought; we are looking for witnesses. We are looking for witnesses. This is where you can be useful to me, not for anything else. If you identify people whom we have not identified and provide us with their details,” he told the journalists.
Yasen Todorov said that the confirmed number of those killed was 12. Autopsies had been carried out on all of them and forensic medical examinations had been ordered. The exact number of injured people still could not be given because some of them had been transferred between different medical facilities. Medical records had been requested from the hospitals, but not all the information had yet been received. The aim was to avoid double-counting.
“There may be fewer than 51 injured people,” the investigator clarified.
He said that most of the forensic medical examinations of the injured had already been ordered, while the remaining ones were to be commissioned the following week.
Todorov expressed his gratitude to the forensic doctor from Sliven who performed the autopsies and examinations, as well as to the teams involved in the rescue and subsequent operations.
He gave special recognition to the firefighters, police officers, investigating police officers and emergency medical services from Yambol and Sliven.
“I simply want to praise the heroism of the Interior Ministry officers from Yambol and Sliven—police officers, firefighters, investigating police officers, and emergency medical personnel—who reacted very adequately and managed to control the situation so that the number of victims could be minimized,” Yasen Todorov said.