Overview
- Twelve people were killed and six injured in a collision on the M-14 highway in Mykolaiv region after a passenger minibus and a truck collided, and prosecutors have formally notified a detained Nissan Murano driver of suspicion under Part 3, Article 286 of the Criminal Code.
- The Office of the Prosecutor General said it is deciding whether to ask a court for pretrial detention for the Nissan driver as investigators gather forensic evidence and witness statements.
- Police accounts initially blamed the minibus driver for veering off the road and colliding with a truck, but witnesses have given an alternative version implicating the Nissan, leaving causation contested pending further investigation.
- In a separate crash in Novyi Dvir, Kovel district, Volyn region, a VAZ driver who was reported intoxicated hit a parked car that was then thrown into the road and struck a motorcyclist, killing the VAZ driver and a passenger and injuring six others.
- Local authorities declared a day of mourning in Mykolaiv and both cases have been entered into the pretrial investigation register as police and forensic teams continue on-site work, hospital treatment for the injured, and legal steps by prosecutors.