Signs of Inaction: Unexamined Circumstances Surround the Death of a Traffic Police Officer in an Accident on Trakia Highway

Certain actions by public organisations and a private company have contributed to the circumstances which led to the death of police officer Ivan Tasev, who lost his life four years ago in a traffic accident on Trakia Highway – these are the conclusions of the latest investigation of the Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation (ACF), published today.

On 26 November 2022, Tasev, aged 35, was seriously injured while the traffic police vehicle in which he was riding with a colleague was escorting a private-company vehicle applying road markings along the highway. Another driver caused the deadly collision. Tasev died from his injuries several days after the accident.

ACF’s investigation Signs of Inaction shows that the police patrol vehicle was unlawfully dispatched to escort the road-marking work. At the same time, the road section had not been secured in compliance with the regulations. Furthermore, questions surround the official investigation into the crash, which only examined the actions of the driver who caused the collision and failed to consider the actions of the control bodies – the Regional Road Administration (RRA) – Pazardzhik and the District Directorate (DD) of the Ministry of Interior – Pazardzhik.

“We reviewed some of the documents of the proceedings and identified a number of violations at all levels – the Road Infrastructure Agency, the traffic police, and the company contracted to apply the road markings – which possibly contributed to Mr Tasev’s death,” said Sofia Zheleva, a legal expert with the ACF.

“Still, in its investigation of the accident, the public prosecution only focused on the culpability of the driver who caused the collision. We can only guess as to what motivated the decision not to investigate the possibility of violations having been committed by the implicated control bodies,” she said.

The tragic incident occurred after Tasev and a colleague were tasked with providing security for a vehicle applying road markings on a section of the highway. The order, issued by Senior Inspector Petar Hristoskov, director of the traffic police in Pazardzhik, violates several ordinances.

Firstly, the escort of vehicles applying road markings is not a responsibility of the traffic police. The traffic management measures to be implemented in such circumstances are listed in Ordinance 3 on the temporary organisation and safety of traffic during construction and installation works on roads and streets (dated 16 August 2010) of the Ministry of Interior. In the specific case, what is applicable is Art. 58 (5) of Annex 11 of the ordinance.

The law requires that two warning signs are placed – 500 metres before any specialised vehicles or equipment and then 250 metres before. Also required is placement of a closing sign diverting traffic to the open lane of the highway. As is evident from the proceedings, some of the mandated signs were missing.

The procedure for altering the organisation of traffic also requires collaboration between the Road Infrastructure Agency, the RRA – Pazardzhik, the DD – Pazardzhik, and the private company applying the road markings. Representatives of all the parties should visit the site before the start of work, signing a Protocol for the adoption of temporary traffic organisation and safety measures. In the course of ACF’s investigation, none of the above-mentioned public institutions agreed to share the protocol. In a written response, the RRA – Pazardzhik confirmed that such a protocol had never been signed.

“With the protocol, the control bodies guarantee that, just before the start of the works, all legal requirements necessary to reduce the risk of accidents are in place,” said Zheleva. “Since the protocol is missing, a conclusion can be drawn that the legal requirements were not complied with.”

Another point of interest has to do with the private company – SD Injenering 77 Ltd. The company was implicated in another ACF investigation titled API and the Seven Percent which links the company’s owner, Tzvetan Tzonev, to a corruption scheme within the Road Infrastructure Agency.

The application of road markings along the Trakia Highway is one of several activities contracted by the Road Infrastructure Agency to the consortium Obedinenie Iug, in which SD Injenering 77 is a partner. The contract was signed on 12 February 2021 and is worth BGN 12.6 mln. VAT included. Its duration is five years. On 12 April 2023, the parties signed an additional agreement, increasing the value of the contract by 50 per cent to a total of BGN 18.9 mln. VAT included.

In response to questions sent by the ACF, the consortium said that all work related to the application of road markings was carried out in strict adherence to the legal framework. The consortium further stated that all the necessary documentation had been issued.

Still, the main question remains, i.e. did the public institutions also bear some responsibility for the accident?

“Nearly four years after this tragic accident, the control bodies have still not explained on what grounds the decision was taken to send the police patrol to that section of Trakia Highway,” said Boyko Stankushev, director of the ACF. “This question is very pertinent considering the legislative framework which clearly stipulates all requirements for the application of road markings.”

The public prosecution, at two instances, has denied the request of Tasev’s family for the possible culpability of third parties to be investigated. Prosecutors are claiming that, during the pre-trial proceedings, it was established that the legally required warning signs had been positioned along the highway. However, the documents of the case reveal that the private company had only installed one of the required signs, which had been placed at the company vehicle while the patrol car was driving just behind. A decision of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of Cassation is still pending.

Click here to view the investigation.