Appeals Court Toughens Alibunar Driver's Sentence
Four years in prison instead of three for a grave traffic safety offense. The Alibunar driver who killed his neighbor on Christmas Day 2022 must report to Pancevo prison on August 20.
The Appeals Court in Belgrade overturned a first instance ruling and raised the sentence for a driver from Alibunar from three to four years in prison. The court upheld an appeal from the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office and changed the ruling only in the part concerning the criminal sanction. Robert G. (34) was convicted of a grave offense against the safety of public traffic.
The crash happened on Christmas Day, January 7, 2022, in Alibunar. Ivan Jovicin was killed while standing outside his house, fixing a car. According to the findings in the proceedings, the driver was behind the wheel of a BMW with 3.33 per mille of alcohol in his blood. The victim was the father of two children.
What the Court Changed
The first instance ruling had handed down a three year prison sentence. The prosecution appealed the length of the sentence, and the Appeals Court upheld that appeal. The legal classification of the offense stayed the same, only the sanction changed.
Serbian law allows drivers a maximum of 0.2 per mille of alcohol in their blood. The measured level was more than sixteen times that limit.
According to unofficial information, the indictment was filed roughly two years after the crash. The victim’s family says the driver was held for 48 hours immediately after the crash, then defended himself at large for the rest of the proceedings.
The Morning of Christmas Eve
The driver and the victim were neighbors from the same village. According to the family, the two men had spent that morning together, going out to cut the Yule log. A few hours later, Ivan Jovicin was outside his house, working on the car he was repairing.
The victim’s father says he was standing next to his son when the vehicle struck. By his account, the car slammed into a bridge after the impact and flipped onto the other side of the road. The defense argued during the proceedings that the speed was about 50 kilometers per hour, while the father maintains it was far higher.
When Does the Convicted Man Report to Prison?
The convicted man has been summoned to begin serving his sentence on August 20. He will serve his term at the Pancevo Correctional Facility. Until that date he remains free, living in the same village as the victim’s family.
Ivan Jovicin’s mother, Sladjana Jovicin, says the family sees him almost every day.
He has simply gone on with his life, walking around, going to cafes, as if nothing happened
For her, the Appeals Court’s ruling is not the end of the story, only one part of it.
The sentence has gone up to four years, but he still has to actually go and serve it
She summed up how the family feels after the ruling in one sentence: “My son is dead, and his killer is free.”
Christmas in the Jovicin Household
The date of the crash is also the date of a family holiday. Since Ivan died, the household no longer marks Christmas Eve or Christmas.
We used to look forward to the holiday, and now there is only grief. There is no more Christmas Eve or Christmas in our home
The victim’s father, Radojica Jovicin, points to the expert findings on the driver’s condition at the time of the crash.
The experts clearly established that he was severely intoxicated
He also says the family has not received an apology in the four and a half years since the crash: “He never came to offer condolences.”
The Appeals Court’s ruling is final. The next date in the case is August 20, when the convicted man is due to report to the gate of the prison in Pancevo.
