Epileptic driving

A routine passenger bus flight in Khabarovsk ended in tragedy

Yesterday morning, a passenger bus collapsed from an overpass bridge in the center of Khabarovsk. There were more than fifty passengers in the overcrowded cabin. When the car drove out to a road junction that connects two central streets of Khabarovsk, the driver suffered an epileptic seizure and lost control of the car. The crowded PAZ veered to the side, and at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour it crossed the oncoming lane, rammed the metal barrier of the overpass and, after flying about ten meters, landed on its own roof.

As a result of the accident, two passengers died at the scene. Another 44 injured were taken by ambulance to the trauma departments of nearby hospitals. Doctors assess the condition of seventeen passengers, including five children, as critical.

As a result of the accident, the driver Vitaly Zhidkov, who was driving the ill-fated bus, also survived. He is now in the burn department of the 2nd Regional Hospital in a condition of moderate severity. The driver explained to the investigators of the regional prosecutor's office, which opened a criminal case into the accident, that it was his first working day on a commercial bus. Zhidkov's driving experience is six years at a state transport enterprise. Colleagues characterize the driver himself as a non-drinker and responsible person. The main version that the investigation is now considering is that the driver had an epileptic attack while driving. If it is confirmed, the driver is unlikely to be prosecuted.

This already happened in Khabarovsk a year and a half ago. Then the epileptic driver had a seizure, and he also drove off the bridge into a ditch. Human casualties were then miraculously avoided. Now investigators from the prosecutor's office are studying all the circumstances of the new case. An employer was interviewed who entrusted the management of passenger transport to a person who was not entirely healthy. However, as Victor Shlyk (the owner of the crashed bus) assures, there were no medical contraindications in Vitaly Zhidkov’s documents.

It is not clear how a person suffering from epilepsy was able to obtain a category “D” driver’s license.

Ilya SERGEEV, Khabarovsk