Bulgaria's 'Killer Bus' Defendants Receive 26 Years of Jail Time

In May 2009, a bus careered down a mountainside called Bakadzhik Peak and plowed through a crowd of pedestrians killing 18. Photo by BGNES

The Yambol Regional Court sentenced to a total of 26 years behind bars the two defendants in the case of the so-called 'killer bus.'

The case involves the May 2009 death of 18 people caused by a bus careering down a mountainside near the southern city of Yambol, called Bakadzhik Peak, and plowing through a crowd of pedestrians heading to a religious festival.

The owner of the carrier company, Slavi Slavov and the driver, Gospodin Gospodinov, were sentenced Tuesday to 13 years of jail time each. The Prosecutor requested 22 years for Slavov and 15 years for Gospodinov, with the motives Slavov knew the bus had faulty breaks while the driver had a 0.66 blood alcohol level at the time of the accident.

The relatives of the victims said they were not satisfied with the leniency shown by the magistrates since each defendant received less than a year per victim while the defense lawyers informed they will appeal the verdict.

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