A sinister series of events befalls the family of 18-year-old Nikola Burgazliev from Nessebar – the young man who on August 14 swept away five people on the sidewalk in Sunny Beach with an ATV.
The day the tires of the machine crushed the little 4-year-old Marty and sent his mother Hristina into brain death will remain forever marked not only for the victims, but also for the entire Burgazliev family.
On Friday, August 22, thousands gathered in front of the Courthouse in Burgas, where they protested against the decision of Judge Nikola Doychev from RS-Nessebar, who imposed a preventive measure of "house arrest" on Burgazliev, instead of leaving him behind bars from the day of the collision.
However, the appeals court was not so kind to the accused and sent him to custody. Judge Angel Gagashev of the Burgas District Court decided that the 18-year-old driver should be in custody, and given the condition of the victims, the Prosecutor's Office decided to reclassify the charge - to causing serious bodily harm or even death. Then it became clear that Burgazliev was threatened with 15 to 20 years in prison.
On Tuesday, Nikola Burgazliev's expert report was released, which reported that there were traces of marijuana in the boy's blood and urine.
"The expert report does not deal with conventions, it is categorical about the presence of the narcotic substance in question, or rather its active ingredient - tetrahydrocannabinol", said District Prosecutor Georgi Chinev.
This means that the legal qualification of the charge will be changed again - to intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm and Burgazliev will certainly be sent to prison for a long time.
During the peaceful protest in front of the Burgas Courthouse, relatives of 4-year-old Marty and his mother Hristina expressed doubt that the accused's parents could influence the trial, since they are employees of the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Nikola's father - Georgi Burgazliev is a police officer in the Nessebar Regional Police Department, and his mother Rosa Raleva - an investigating police officer in the "Criminal Police" department of the same regional department.
Georgi Burgazliev is an operational officer and does not hold a managerial position, as the protesters claimed.
He is responsible for the briefings of ordinary police officers and those who are seconded to the sea. He also deals with the documentation of vacations and sick days of law enforcement officers in the Nessebar Regional Police Department. This practically means that his word will hardly be heard or taken into account to influence an investigation with such great risk.
Against the backdrop of this gloomy picture, the family's personal tragedy is revealed.
Nikola's mother - Rosa Raleva, could not stand the pressure and suffered a severe stroke on August 14. Today she continues to lie in a hospital in a state of emergency, devastated by both health problems and the disgrace that befell her child. She has not even been able to catch a glimpse of her son, who was taken into custody immediately after the attack. This was told to Flagman.bg by a close friend of hers.
"Her overall health is not good. She is a very worrying woman. I don't know how she would affect the investigation since she is in a state of emergency. In recent months, she has taken several leave of absence to travel to Sofia for medical reasons," her friend added.
And fate, as if wanting to test how much more this family can endure, deals them other blows.
Just a day before the fatal accident in Sunny Beach, Rosa Raleva's daughter from her first marriage announced the happy news that she would become a mother. But their joy lasted too short, literally a few hours – Georgi Burgazliev's daughter from his first marriage, who is married and lives in Germany, shocks the family with the news that she has just been diagnosed with a serious illness.
Thus, within two days, an avalanche of events descends upon the family - from the joy of an upcoming new beginning, through the horror of the catastrophe, to the ruthless diagnosis that takes away hope.