«I lost control and then passed out». What did Voznesensk Mayor Velychko explain to the Kropyvnytskyi court?

On 30 January, the Podilskyi District Court of Kropyvnytskyi arrested the mayor of Voznesensk, Yevhenii Velychko, in connection with a fatal accident. In court, he admitted that he had driven into oncoming traffic due to bad weather and then lost consciousness.

A correspondent from NikVesti reports on the details of yesterday's hearing.

The court hearing was scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m., but due to the threat of Russian attacks and an air raid alert, it started late. The convoy brought Velychko, who had been detained the day before, to the courtroom and led him to the glass box. However, the mayor's defence lawyer, Igor Pritikin, then asked the court to allow him to sit next to him.

«Actually, the defence is provided, and now we have glass boxes without metal bars. This meets the standards,» replied the investigating judge.

«It's difficult to collect my thoughts here,» said Yevhenii Velychko.

The judge allowed him to move to sit next to his lawyer and began to clarify the suspect's personal details. In particular, he asked about Velychko's income.

«My money is 25,000 hryvnias. My wife earns 16,000. Our total income is about 40,000. In general, the mayor's salary is 45,000 hryvnias, but I have been donating all bonuses and allowances to charity since 2020. Therefore, I only receive 25,000. With charity, it's 40,000. And together, it's 61,000,» said Yevhenii Velychko.

The defence lawyer also submitted to the court a positive character reference for the mayor of Voznesensk, numerous letters of thanks and awards. In addition, he showed the court materials from a documentary film by the publication NikVesti about how the defence of Voznesensk continued in the first months of the invasion. Yevhenii Velychko appears there as one of the heroes, the mayor, who talked about the situation in the town, explained how the special operation to repel the Russians was carried out and who was behind it.

Ihor Prytykin also drew the judge's attention to the fact that Yevhenii Velychko contacted the family of the deceased and provided all the necessary assistance for his burial.

Prosecutor Dmytro Babenko asked the court to impose a preventive measure of detention without setting bail. The investigation believes that the suspect may be hiding from law enforcement agencies and influencing witnesses.

«Velychko drove into the oncoming lane and collided with another car, a Renault Megane. A series of expert examinations will be conducted in the future, but at this point, it can be objectively stated that Velichko did indeed violate traffic rules,» said the prosecutor.

In response, his defence lawyer argued that the risks highlighted by the investigation were not substantiated.

«Unfortunately, a person died, but this crime was unintentional and careless. It was not a case of driving through a red light. It was not a case of crossing into the oncoming lane across a solid line. It happened solely because of the technical capabilities of the vehicle, because he lost control of the car. He tried to return to his lane, but was technically unable to do so. He has responsibilities as mayor to 40,000 city residents. Voznesensk is comparable in location to Donetsk Airport. It is under constant shelling. Every minute, decisions must be made to improve the energy system or heat supply in medical and educational institutions and everything related to public safety. All this, accordingly, is the responsibility of Yevhenii Velychko,» said lawyer Ihor Prytykin.

Yevhenii Velychko himself said that on the day of the accident, he was travelling on a business trip to Yaremche, where the Association of Ukrainian Communities was to take place, where he was to receive an offer to become the regional head of the association.

«I must apologise to my family and to society. A terrible tragedy has occurred in which my father died. I understand that I was involved in this accident. I have seen the case materials, and I understand that the collision occurred in the oncoming lane. I do not deny any of the charges. I fully understand where I was and what I was doing at that time. I was travelling from Mykolaiv to Yaremche after signing the memorandum,» he said.

He said that the weather conditions deteriorated on the way and it became difficult to drive the car.

«It was foggy. It was already close to evening. There was slush on the road, that is, it was a long turn at 34 km, Blahovishchenske — Mykolaiv. It is a large intersection with an acceleration lane with two existing lanes. There was no snow between the wheels of the car in the lane, there was no snow on the bend, but the slush flew into my lane. And as I was driving, I just started to lose control in my lane. And then I lost consciousness and didn't understand what had happened. When I came to, I realised that there had been an accident. The first thing I did was break my door and run to that car, which was about 25-30 metres away, lying on its right side. I ran first. Lorries and cars stopped to help. I started breaking the glass, but realised I couldn't do it on my own, so I waited until I had broken the glass, and then a man approached. The two of us tried to break the glass together. I asked him to call an ambulance, gave him my phone to call the police, and by then another five or six men had gathered. We turned the car over, and I started to open the driver's door, but realised that only the passenger door would open. Viktor, the husband of the woman lying in the back, was sitting in that seat. They were returning from Uman after surgery on his spine, because a week ago they had been in a car accident while he was driving. We got him out,» the suspect explained to the court.

He then tried to get Alexander out of the driver's seat, but his door was locked and they had to wait for the emergency services.

«I ran to Oleksandr, he was lying face down on the steering wheel. I lifted his head and held him by the chest. We tried to help him, we rubbed him with snow, did everything we could. I held him until the ambulance arrived. I tried to provide first aid, but I understood that without the State Emergency Service, we would not be able to open the other two doors, so we waited,» he added.

After his explanation, the judge asked if he agreed with the suspicion and risks indicated in it. Mayor Yevhenii Velychko stated that he did not absolve himself of responsibility and was ready to continue to assist the investigation. However, he emphasised that he was the mayor and had a duty to his constituents.

«I have been assisting the investigation all this time. I answered all the questions. I tried to remember some details. And I will continue to help everyone figure this out. But the beginning of the year is a very important period for the city, when we are forming projects that we see will be financed by international organisations. I have a surplus budget of 280 million. For example, Pivdennoukrainsk has 1.3 million, but the Voznesensk community is the first in the region to open rehabilitation centres. I have two of them today, support centres, veterans' spaces. We are the first in the region to open them. This is thanks to our work with international partners. Now it is important to be in the community. I have a population of 37,500, 17,900 of whom are pensioners. And of those, only 400 pensioners receive above-average pensions, i.e. above 3,000. The others receive less. I have to provide them with firewood. I have 580 single people of retirement age who are doomed. These are my official duties, duties that my secretary cannot replace during my absence,» said the mayor.

As a result, Podilskyi District Court judge Leonid Plokhotnichenko remanded the mayor in custody with the possibility of bail set at 565,000 hryvnias.

Fatal accident involving the mayor of Voznesensk

The accident involving Yevhenii Velychko occurred during his business trip. On 28 January, the emergency services received information about an accident involving two cars. The accident itself occurred near the village of Pushkove in the Holovanivskyi district.

On 29 January, law enforcement officers detained the mayor of Voznesensk and handed him a suspicion under Part 2 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — «Violation of traffic safety rules that caused the death of the victim or caused serious bodily injury».

On 30 January, the Kirovohrad region police published a photo of the car belonging to the mayor of Voznesensk, which was involved in a fatal traffic accident on the Mykolaiv-Blahovishchenske highway. According to their information, when the mayor was driving towards the village of Holovanivsk, he drove into the oncoming lane and collided with a Renault.

On the same day, the court chose Yevhenii Velychko as a preventive measure in the form of detention.