Eight injured in a crash near Smederevo, three children in hospital
Two passenger cars collided on the bypass near the village of Petrijevo around noon. Eight people were injured, and three children were taken to Belgrade for further observation.
- Two passenger cars collided around noon on the bypass near the village of Petrijevo, close to Smederevo.
- A total of eight people were injured, including three children.
- All three children were taken to Belgrade for further diagnostics and observation.
- One driver was detained and faces charges of endangering road safety.
A traffic accident occurred around noon on the bypass near Smederevo, close to the village of Petrijevo. Two passenger cars, a Passat and an Opel, collided. Eight people were injured, three of them children. According to the information available so far, none of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, but extra caution was applied because of the age of the youngest passengers.
Early accounts suggest the collision happened while the driver of the Passat was making a U-turn on the bypass. At that moment, an Opel travelling along the same stretch struck his vehicle. The impact was strong enough to injure every occupant of both cars. The exact sequence of events and the question of responsibility will be established by the authorities during the on-site investigation and the inquiry that follows.
Ambulance crews treated the injured at the scene and sent the most serious cases to hospital. The three children were transferred to Belgrade, to the University Children’s Hospital on Tirsova Street, for further diagnostics and observation. This is standard procedure when minors are involved in a crash, because the effects of an impact on children cannot always be assessed immediately.
What is known about the cause and who is responsible?
A U-turn on a stretch with heavy traffic is among the manoeuvres that carry a high risk. A driver turning around must give way to all vehicles from both directions, because other road users do not expect such a move on an open road. According to the first findings, it was exactly this kind of manoeuvre that preceded the collision.
The driver of the Passat was detained after the accident. He faces a charge of endangering road safety. It is important to stress that detention and a criminal complaint do not amount to established guilt. Responsibility will be decided by the prosecution and the court, based on expert findings and the evidence gathered. Until a final ruling, the suspect is presumed innocent.
Traffic police carried out an on-site investigation at the scene. An expert analysis is expected to show the speeds of both vehicles, the precise trajectory and the moment at which the collision became unavoidable. Only after those findings can a more accurate reconstruction of what happened on the bypass be made.
How can crashes like this be prevented?
Bypasses and stretches outside built-up areas often create a false sense of safety. Fewer junctions and traffic lights tempt drivers into higher speeds, and any unpredictable manoeuvre, such as a U-turn, becomes more dangerous than it would be in town. Road safety experts have warned for years that the highest number of serious crashes happens precisely because of sudden and improper actions on open roads.
What stands out in this case is that children were among the injured. Correctly securing children in seats suited to their age and weight is the only way to keep the consequences of an impact to a minimum. While there were no fatalities in this particular case, the outcome could have been far worse.
What happens next will depend on the recovery of the injured and on the findings of the investigation. When you turn around on a busy stretch of road, how confident are you that other drivers really see you in time?
