The 18-year-old witness, hired to take care of the ATVs at an attraction in Sunny Beach, stated before the Burgas District Court that he had no competence to inspect the engine and brake systems of the vehicles. He was presented as a mechanic and was questioned at the hearing in the case against the accused Nikola Burgazliev, Nova TV reported.
The case concerns the accident of August 14, 2025, in which an ATV driven by Burgazliev hit pedestrians on a sidewalk in Sunny Beach. A 35-year-old mother of two children died in the incident.
The courtroom showed footage from the archive of the automobile administration related to the technical inspection of the ATV. According to Burgazliev's defense, another vehicle was captured on the recording.
According to him, the number 13 is visible on the side of the filmed ATV, while the vehicle involved in the accident has the number 4. The defense claims that there is no evidence that the appearance of the ATV has been changed.
Burgazliev's lawyers also point to a similar incident from June 17, 2023. Then an 18-year-old young man was driving the same ATV, crashed into a pavilion with a woman, and as a reason he indicated failed brakes.
Dispute over who controlled the ATVs
Lawyer Galina Koleva said that there are contradictions in the testimonies of the owner of the attraction and the person presented as responsible for the staff. According to her, it remains unclear who was responsible for the vehicles and who exercised control and surveillance over them.
„We insist that this issue be investigated and that the person be questioned to express his subjective attitude and perception of what happened“, Koleva said.
According to the defense, this person has entered into an agreement with the prosecutor's office. The lawyer pointed out that his testimony is important to be taken into account by experts in clarifying the circumstances surrounding the ATV.
Lawyer Georgi Radkov, who defends the interests of the deceased's family, said that the witness is not an expert. „He is, to put it bluntly, a mechanic. "He is not appearing as an expert, but as a witness named by the defense," Radkov said.
The mother of the deceased said that the family continues to live with the consequences of the accident and that one of the children is still being treated and has been left with a trauma.