Teenager, 17, Killed in Highway Crash Near Uzice
A car struck a 17-year-old on a highway near Uzice. After the impact the body was thrown into a second moving vehicle. The teenager died at the scene, and a police investigation is under way.
- A car struck a 17-year-old on a highway near Uzice, in western Serbia.
- After the impact the body was thrown into a second vehicle that was still moving.
- The teenager died at the scene, and an investigation is under way.
- Unofficially, the driver who hit him may have held a provisional licence.
A 17-year-old was killed in the early hours of the morning on a highway near Uzice, on the stretch leading toward Pozega. A car struck him while he was on the roadway. The force of the impact threw the body, which then hit a second vehicle that was approaching. The teenager died at the scene.
An investigation is under way, with police and the on-duty prosecutor establishing the circumstances of the crash. Paramedics reached the scene quickly but could only confirm the death. Traffic was diverted during the investigation and the section was closed.
According to early, still unofficial information, the vehicle that first struck the teenager was driven by a man in his early twenties from the Pozega area. Unofficially, he may have held a provisional licence, something the official checks have yet to confirm. The second vehicle, which clipped the body as it passed, carried plates from another part of Serbia. Both drivers are reported to have remained at the scene.
What is known about the circumstances
The crash happened on one of the busier routes in western Serbia, the road linking Uzice and Pozega. It is a stretch used by a large number of vehicles overnight, and the lighting is poor in places.
Footage from surveillance cameras covering the section could prove decisive. Investigators will examine the movement of both vehicles, their speed and the visibility at the moment of impact, as well as why the teenager was on the roadway. Until the forensic analysis and the scene investigation are complete, responsibility cannot be assigned, and no participant has been found guilty.
Cases involving more than one vehicle are technically demanding to reconstruct. Traffic experts will have to establish the exact sequence of impacts and the position of everyone involved, since the legal classification of the event depends on it.
Are highways safe enough at night?
Highways without a physical barrier between lanes, with high speeds and patchy lighting, have for years been among the most dangerous points on Serbia’s roads. Darkness further reduces visibility, so any pedestrian or stopped vehicle on the carriageway becomes hard to spot in time.
When the youngest drivers on a provisional licence are involved, the rules are stricter. Their speed is capped, and late-night driving is generally allowed only with an experienced driver present. Whether those rules were followed in this case will be determined by the prosecution.
Behind the dry data about vehicles and the scene investigation stands a family that lost a child in a single night. How many times will we, as a society, return to the same question about the safety of our highways before the death toll begins to fall?
