Tram Driver at Fault in Sofia Crash over Talking on Phone

The collision with a Sofia tram caused a taxi shuttle to go into several 360-degree spins, hitting a number of pedestrians and striking a vehicle traveling right behind it. Photo by BGNES

The driver of a tram was at fault for the serious accident in which 17 people were injured in downtown Sofia exactly two weeks ago.

The Sofia Traffic police reports that the female driver was talking on her cell phone at the time of the accident. The Deputy Mayor of Sofia's City Hall told the media Thursday that she has been fired, stressing this is the only measure the management of the capital's public transportation can undertake under its authority.

Video cameras at the busy intersection where the crash occurred have caught the driver of tram #10 talking on the phone while crossing a red light.

The October 20th collision between a tram and a taxi shuttle at the crossing of Patriarch Evtimiy Boulevard and Vassil Levski Boulevard, in the very heart of Sofia, left 17 people injured, including a toddler and two teenagers.

The chain reaction crash was triggered by Tram #10, which crossed a red light, ran into a taxi shuttle and stopped only after colliding with Tram #12.

The collision caused the taxi shuttle with about 10 passengers to go into several 360-degree spins, hitting a number of pedestrians, among whom a 34-year-old woman who got literally run over, and striking a vehicle traveling right behind it.

Tram # 10 eventually rear-ended Tram 12 which had stopped in front of it.

Miraculously, all 17 have recovered.

The female driver has 30 years of experience on the job and tests show she had not been using alcohol prior to the crash.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!