Worker Falls to Death on Trolleybus in Vracar

A construction worker died around 1:25 p.m. on September 9 at Zicka Street 19 in Vracar, after falling from the fifth floor of a building under construction onto the roof of a passing line 29 trolleybus. The vehicle was carrying passengers at the time.

According to unofficial information reported by Kurir and Informer, the worker was installing lighting on the building’s exterior and was secured with a safety rope. Part of that rope reportedly caught on the trolleybus’s side mirror, pulling him downward. Witnesses say he first struck the building’s terrace before landing on the roof of the vehicle.

The on-duty public prosecutor from Belgrade’s First Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office went to the scene and carried out an on-site investigation. The prosecutor’s office said in a statement:

The prosecutor ordered that all evidence be collected in order to establish the exact facts of the case, namely the cause of the accident. This includes a forensic autopsy, an emergency technical inspection of the trolleybus operating on line 29, obtaining footage from surveillance cameras on nearby buildings, and seizing the video recordings from the cameras inside the trolleybus.

At the prosecutor’s request, a labor inspector was also sent to the scene, tasked with drawing up a report and gathering documentation on conditions at the construction site. Police were ordered to administer a breathalyzer test to the trolleybus driver.

The statement indicates that the prosecution has so far ordered:

• a forensic autopsy
• an emergency technical inspection of the line 29 trolleybus
• footage from surveillance cameras on nearby buildings
• video recordings from cameras inside the trolleybus itself
• a breathalyzer test for the driver
• an on-site visit by a labor inspector

The deceased worker is identified in the statement and in media reports only by the initials S. S. The prosecutor’s office and Kurir report that he was 32 years old, while Informer’s report describes him as a 30-year-old. The trolleybus driver, identified by the initials Z. V., is 33, according to the prosecutor’s statement as well as reports from N1 and Kurir.

The investigation into the circumstances of the accident is ongoing. The results of the autopsy and the trolleybus’s technical inspection should show whether the fall was caused by a failure to properly secure the worker at height or by some other cause.