The Sofia City Court has sentenced Viktor Iliev, who caused the serious bus accident in Sofia last year, to 20 years in prison. The indictment states that the 21-year-old intentionally caused the death of Isa Ali, as well as moderate bodily injuries to four people, Nova TV reported.
In addition, Themis also deprives him of the right to drive a vehicle for 23 years. The verdict can be appealed within 15 days.
Previously, the prosecution requested 20 years in prison for Iliev. The case was heard under the abbreviated procedure, since Iliev pleaded guilty and thus his sentence will be reduced by 1/3.
„I support what the lawyer said. I express my condolences to the deceased and I want to express my regret to the victims. I didn't want it to happen like this”, said Viktor Iliev in his last words to Themida.
We recall that the accident occurred on the night of August 15, 2025. A passenger on the bus died and the driver was seriously injured. Iliev is charged with intentional causing of death. According to the prosecutor's office, this happened while driving at a speed of 163 km/h. While driving the car, he inhaled two cans of laughing gas, the state prosecution also claims.
66-year-old Stefan Petrov - the victim of the serious accident - spoke to NOVA. He said that on the fatal day he was on shift as a driver in the night public transport of Sofia. He only made one trip. From the second, he only remembers the red traffic light on the “Vazkresenie” boulevards and “Konstantin Velichkov”. “I was caught at a red traffic light and was waiting for a green signal. At that moment I heard a loud bang, it hit the bus like a bomb and from then on I don't remember anything. They took me from the sidewalk to the hospital”. This is how Stefan began his story.
Stefan Petrov doesn't see the oncoming car at all. And there were only three people on the bus at that time - he, the conductor and one passenger - Dr. Ali. “The doctor rode every evening, went to “Ovcha Kupel” and came home at the same time. The conductor was opposite me, in the front seats. "I didn't see what happened to them at all," the driver recalls.
After an ambulance team picked him up from the sidewalk, Stefan was transported to the Military Medical Academy, with multiple injuries and life-threatening injuries. His first memories are of intensive care, after ten days in a medically induced coma.