A minivan driver escaped punishment for a fatal accident near Rivne.

The Rivne District Court has delivered a verdict against Sviatoslav Tsybulskyi, who caused a fatal traffic accident. The accused crashed his Opel Vivaro minivan into an oncoming Toyota RAV vehicle, resulting in the death of the latter's driver and injuries to two passengers. For his actions, the man received a three-year probation sentence.

As stated in the verdict dated January 17, the accident occurred on the morning of January 31, 2023, in the village of Hrusvytsia Druha in the Rivne region. On the Kyiv-Chop highway, minivan driver Sviatoslav Tsybulskyi veered into the oncoming lane and collided with a Toyota RAV4 crossover driven by a 45-year-old resident of Dnipro.

As a result of the accident, the driver of the crossover died at the scene, while his two passengers—a 42-year-old wife and a 16-year-old daughter—were hospitalized in critical condition.

Initially, the victims requested the maximum penalty for the 53-year-old defendant; however, after he compensated for the damages incurred, they withdrew their claims.

Judge Mykhailo Tahrhonii found Sviatoslav Tsybulskyi guilty under part 2 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violating traffic safety rules resulting in the death of the victim) but exempted him from the main punishment, imposing a three-year probation sentence instead. The decision can still be appealed in the appellate court.