A court in Almaty has begun proceedings against the driver of the former deputy head of the city's police department, Yerzhan Uzabayev. He is accused of negligence in service, which, according to the investigation, may have led to a fatal accident on Al-Farabi Avenue that claimed three lives, reports infohub.kz.
According to investigators, on the night of the accident, the driver of the high-ranking police officer and Alexander Pak, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, were overtaking each other in turns. The former deputy head of the Almaty police department, Yerzhan Uzabayev, testified in court as a witness. He explained that on that day, the defendant accompanied him on an official assignment, then drove him home and was supposed to deliver the car to the motor pool. Uzabayev also stated that he was not personally acquainted with Alexander Pak but spoke positively of his former driver.
Recall that the tragedy occurred on the night of March 21 on Al-Farabi Avenue. A Zeekr car veered into oncoming traffic and collided with a Mercedes. As a result, the driver of the Mercedes and two passengers died at the scene.
At the preliminary hearing, the Zeekr driver expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said he would never forgive himself. The injured party refused the services of lawyer Meirman Shekeyev. Relatives of one of the deceased stated they had reconciled with the defendant and asked not to deprive him of freedom or to give a suspended sentence. The mother of the deceased passenger also asked for a suspended sentence. Later, a third victim also dropped her claims.
The defendant gave testimony, recounting the events of that night and stating that he did not intend to evade punishment. Another victim also appeared in the case: the father of the deceased Mercedes passenger, who filed a civil lawsuit for 100 million tenge.
On June 22, the court found the Zeekr driver guilty and sentenced him to 10 years in prison to be served in a minimum-security facility, and also permanently revoked his driver's license.