It has already been reported that on Friday in the Lithuanian city of Utena, the Latvian Telles/Griva crew drove into the crowd of spectators during the “Samsonas Rally Utena” rally, causing the death of one person and injuring 14.
As stated by Krastiņš, who was also at this rally, the Lithuanian police is currently investigating, but he has no information that the Latvians have been charged.
“I can confirm that everyone who was directly involved in that accident has been questioned. This is a fact,” Krastins said. “Who is guilty or innocent will be determined by the Lithuanian court,” he noted.
The LAF vice president also stated that the Latvian athletes have returned home to Latvia after completing all the necessary procedures.
Also, Krastiņš said that there was no warning sign at the place where the accident happened before the dangerous turn. “In such places in Latvia, we install a one meter by three and a half meter warning sign with an arrow to the right or to the left, and then it is quite clear where you have to drive, even if you made a mistake in braking or turning,” said LAF vice president.
He emphasized that this is also mentioned in the recommendations of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) safety regulations. “I understand that it is difficult to move a 900-kilogram bale up the mountain, but one such arrow would have completely prevented the tragedy that happened in Lithuania,” said LAF vice president.
As previously mentioned by the Lithuanian media, the tragic accident was probably caused by the fact that hay bales, which were used to mark the direction of turns in the rally, were knocked down by other cars, so the Latvian crew did not notice the turn and ran into the spectators.
Meanwhile, the Lithuanian media “delfi.lt” reported that the officials have started a pre-trial investigation in connection with the tragic accident according to Article 132, Part 3 of the Lithuanian Criminal Code on manslaughter due to negligence.
2024-10-01 08:07:33