A Belarusian citizen accused of a fatal car accident was sentenced to five years in prison in Aktobe.

37-year-old Solovyov, a native of the Mogilev region in Belarus, was charged with violating traffic regulations that led to the deaths of individuals. He fully admitted to the charges and apologized to the relatives of the deceased. After the verdict was delivered, Solovyov declined to comment.

According to the case materials, on August 7, 2024, truck driver Sergey Solovyov, while driving a MAN vehicle, crossed into the oncoming lane at the 862nd kilometer of the Samara-Shymkent highway and collided with a Toyota Ipsum, which was carrying five children and three adults. All of them lost their lives.

The driver and passengers of the Toyota Ipsum were traveling from the village of Karashatau in the Aitekebiy district of the Aktobe region to Aktobe. Five elementary school students and two accompanying adults took a taxi to reach the regional center and then planned to transfer to a train to the Mangystau region, where sports competitions were being held.

The students were headed to a football tournament accompanied by their physical education teacher, Zhandos Abilkayev. Two of his sons, nine-year-old Omar and eleven-year-old Mukhamet, were also in the vehicle.

According to police reports, this year, 1,141 traffic incidents were recorded in the Aktobe region. In these accidents, 22 children lost their lives, and 385 children were injured.