Serbian Couple Killed in Bulgaria: Driver Fell Asleep
A married couple from Serbia died after their car hit two trucks on the E-79 highway near Simitli, Bulgaria. Police suspect the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The family was returning from a holiday in Greece.
- A Serbian couple died on July 23 at around 5 p.m. on the E-79 highway near the village of Cherniche, close to Simitli in Bulgaria.
- Their car collided with two trucks, whose drivers were unharmed.
- The 54-year-old woman died first, followed by her husband, who had been driving.
- Police suspect the driver fell asleep at the wheel; the family was returning from a holiday in Greece.
A married couple from Serbia died in a serious road accident in Bulgaria. The crash happened on July 23 at around 5 p.m. The site was the E-79 highway, near the village of Cherniche, close to Simitli. The Serbian citizens’ car collided with two trucks.
The injuries were severe from the outset. The 54-year-old woman was taken to a Bulgarian hospital, where she soon died. Her husband, who had been at the wheel, was admitted to the orthopedic ward in Blagoevgrad. He later died from his injuries.
The drivers of the two trucks, citizens of Hungary and Romania, were not injured. According to Bulgarian police, there is a suspicion that the driver of the car fell asleep at the wheel. The official cause of the crash will be established by the competent authorities, based on the site investigation and forensic analysis. Until then, any assessment remains a suspicion.
How the crash near Simitli happened
The family was heading home from a holiday in Greece. The route to Serbia ran through Bulgaria, one of the busiest corridors for returning from the Greek coast. The E-79 highway was carrying heavy summer traffic that day.
The collision happened in the afternoon. According to available information, the car struck two heavy goods vehicles. The force of the impact was great, as the severity of both passengers’ injuries indicates. Bulgarian emergency crews responded to the scene at once.
The suspicion that the driver fell asleep fits the circumstances of a long journey. The return from the coast means hours behind the wheel, often in the heat and with fatigue built up over the holiday. These are factors investigators routinely check in cases like this. The final finding will come from the forensic analysis.
For now, it is known that both spouses died from their injuries within a few days. First the woman, in the hospital she was taken to from the scene. Then her husband, on the ward in Blagoevgrad. What began as a serious crash thus turned into a tragedy with two victims.
Why is fatigue on long summer drives so dangerous?
Fatigue behind the wheel works quietly. Drivers often underestimate it, convinced they can hold out for one more hour to the border or to home. That final stretch carries the greatest risk. Concentration drops, reactions slow, and a moment of inattention on the highway does not forgive.
Experts have repeated the same advice for years. On long routes, a break every two hours is not a formality. A short rest, sleep before departure, and swapping drivers all reduce the risk of microsleep. Microsleep lasts only a few seconds, but at 100 kilometers per hour a vehicle covers dozens of meters in that time with no control.
The return from a holiday is especially sensitive. Drivers set off early, rush to avoid the queues, and cover long distances in one go. The last kilometers, when the destination seems close, are often the most dangerous. The case near Simitli confirms this painfully.
This accident will not change every driver’s habits overnight. But it can be a reason for each of us to reconsider our own relationship with fatigue on the road. When did you last stop to rest, even though you thought you could push on a little longer?
