A first-person account of the accident involving folk singer Deborah. The woman from the injured family from Moldova spoke to NOVA about the moments after the impact near Pomorie. “She almost killed my whole family. I hope she faces your law”, with these words Mariana begins her story.
This Wednesday, her family is returning from Greece to Moldova. Their road passes through Bulgaria, and near Pomorie, their car is hit by Deborah's car. At that moment, Mariana herself is behind the wheel.
“I heard a loud screeching of tires. I only managed to look in the mirror and saw that a car was flying towards us. I squeezed the steering wheel hard, pressed the brakes. To be honest, a minute later I don't remember the details, but I remember seeing the car crashing into us. A woman fell out of the car. The child was small and screaming loudly. Then I saw that the driver was drunk. She could barely speak, she stank, she smelled of alcohol. She was walking and screaming”, recalls Mariana.
Minutes later, an ambulance and police arrived on the scene.
„They put Deborah in the car. They tested her for alcohol. I was next to her. The police showed us that she had 3.14 per mille. Then they did the same test on me. The device showed 0”, she also says.
After the tests, aggression followed, says Mariana.
„She was drunk. Then she started fighting with the police. The police had a camera. She came to me and started asking in English: “Do you have a problem?” At first I didn't understand what she wanted. I asked her in broken English. “What do you want? Are you adequate? Your child is in the car”. She answered me with aggression. Then she started screaming at me and cursing me. The police took her aside”, the woman continues her story through tears.
In a statement to NOVA, Deborah's lawyer - Yulian Nikolov stated that her behavior was due to panic attacks.
"There is no evidence attached to the case as to what exactly happened on the spot, who behaved in what way. The police officers only reported the results of the breathalyzer tests both in relation to Deborah and in relation to the Moldovan citizen who was driving the other car. If there was any inappropriate behavior from my client, it was due to the serious panic attacks she had and for which she took medication. In a state of stress, she became, to put it mildly, inappropriate. My client herself called 112 twice to report the accident. What she shared with me was that she had no memory of how she ended up from the scene of the accident to the hospital and the district office," the statement says.
At the time of the accident, Mariana's two children were in the car - a 4-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.
“My son was in the car seat. My daughter hit her head on the glass because she was behind the driver. We called a psychologist,” says Mariana.
The next morning, the woman's family is looking for money to borrow for a platform and another car to leave Bulgaria with.