The Novosibirsk Region Office of the Investigative Committee has initiated criminal proceedings against a 56-year-old local resident in connection with a bus crash which injured children. The case was opened into a crime under Part 1 of Article 238 of the RF Penal Code (provision of services that do not meet safety standards).
According to investigators, in 2016, the man who was not a sole proprietor or had a labor contract with any legal entity illegally provided passenger transportation services using his Gazel minibus. On 14 June 2016, at about 6:45 AM, near the Novosibirsk-glavny railway station took aboard 11 underage athletes and 2 coaches to take them to competitions in the town of Barnaul, Altai Territory. At about 8:10 AM, on the way to Barnaul at the 74th km of the road between Novosibirsk and Tashanta there was a traffic accident involving the Gazel with young athletes and a Honda car that injured the passengers of the Gazel. The Gazel driver violated the road code and the rules for organized transportation of a group of children in a bus. This way, the vehicle owned by the suspect had no identification mark indicating that it was transporting children. The driver had no documents entitling him to transport children (a fixture, document providing information on a medical worker, a decision on assigning a traffic police vehicle of the local police office to escort the bus or a notification about transportation of children, a route map or any other documents) and had not had briefing or medical examination before the trip.
It should be noted that children under 12 years of age have to be transported in vehicles with seat belts using children restraints that fit their weight and height or any other devices that can buckle up a child using the seat belts. However, the Gazel had no seat belts or children holding arrangements fit for weight and height of one of the children under 12 years of age. This way, the driver was aware that he was breaching safety rules.
At present the investigators are carrying out investigative operations to find out all the details of the crime. The investigation is ongoing.
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