Accused Polish truck driver Adrian Pawel Wróbel at the District Court in Uherské Hradiště, May 23, 2022. The man faces one to six years in prison for the negligent death of two people.
Uherské Hradiště – The Uherské Hradiště district court sentenced the Polish truck driver who killed two road workers working on the roadside in an accident near Kunovice in the Uherské Hradiště region last year to three years in prison and a five-year ban on driving motor vehicles. While the defendant Adrian Pawel Wróbel denied guilt at the opening of the main trial last year, he later confessed. He repeatedly expressed regret and apologized to the bereaved. For the negligent killing of two people, Wróbel faced one to six years in prison and a ten-year driving ban. The judgment is not final, the plaintiff waived the right to appeal, but the defense kept the deadline.
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When imposing an unconditional sentence and a driving ban, the court fully complied with the proposal of public prosecutor Tomáš Pindur. Defense attorney Kristýna Olivová asked for a suspended sentence at the lower limit of the criminal rate for her client, who complained of a medical condition immediately before the accident. She also agreed to the possible imposition of a driving ban. According to the president of the senate, Jiří Přbyl, it would be possible to consider a suspended sentence if the defendant was not responsible for the death of two people. Even if Wróbel felt tired or indisposed, according to the court, it was within his power to interrupt the ride at any time. According to Přibyl, the possibility that the driver had a microsleep cannot be ruled out.
The 42-year-old Wróbel, who has not yet been sentenced, apologized for the sentencing. However, at the last hearing, the court asked for a mild sentence. He claimed he didn't know what happened to him in the car. “I didn't do anything on purpose. I'm very sorry, I'd like to apologize to everyone again. It's hard for me to cope and I can't imagine how the families of the deceased cope. If I didn't have children, I would probably take my own life,” said Wróbel. He is now taking antidepressants and receiving outpatient psychiatric treatment.
The tragic accident happened on the morning of August 4, 2021, on a straight and clear stretch of I/50. At that time, the professional driver of a Renault Master truck was driving in the direction from Brno to Kunovice. According to the verdict, he did not properly follow the traffic situation and drove at a speed of at least 110 kilometers per hour in a place where the permitted speed was limited to 70 and then 50 kilometers per hour. According to the court, Wróbel did not respond to a van at the shoulder with its orange warning lights on and crashed into a stationary vehicle. According to transport expert František Kropáč, the driver could see the parked car at a distance of 300 meters or more, i.e. eight to ten seconds before the impact.
After a collision with a truck, the parked Peugeot Boxer hit two men who were on the right shoulder they put up portable traffic signs. According to the verdict, both suffered multiple injuries and died on the spot. “These persons had no possibility to prevent the collision,” Přibyl said. The court did not find any complicity or a hint of it in them. The police had previously stated that the dead men were 57 and 58 years old and were employees of a private company. A breath test for the presence of alcohol and a drug test were negative for the truck driver, who escaped the accident without injury.
Wróbel often went to the Czech Republic. He claimed that he always obeyed the traffic rules and did not pay any fine in the country. At the time of the accident, he was traveling from Germany to Slovakia. He admitted that he had already left Germany the day before the accident, while it was still daylight. He also stated that he had breaks at the German-Czech border and at two non-functional gas stations.
