ZAOL – Fatal accident at the pedestrian crossing

The tragic accident occurred on December 22, 2022 at around 6 p.m. in Zalaegerszeg. A 34-year-old man from Szentgotthárd was driving a truck from the direction of the city center towards Bagod, and in the cloudy, rainy weather, due to poor visibility, he continuously operated the windshield wipers. Under these circumstances, he approached the designated pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Gébárti út, in front of Körmendi út 15, at an exaggerated speed of 44-48 km/h, where he was passing an 81-year-old man, whom he noticed late due to his inattention and hit despite braking. The pedestrian suffered such serious injuries in the accident that he died a few weeks after being transported to the hospital.

Criminal proceedings were initiated due to what happened, and the indictment was recently drawn up. According to the wording of this, the cause of the accident was that the driver approached the pedestrian crossing at an excessive speed in violation of the KRESZ regulations. In addition, he was not sufficiently careful, because he was watching the traffic coming from the right, in this way he noticed the pedestrian crossing from left to right in front of him too late, and because of this and the incorrectly chosen speed, he was unable to stop in time.
The Zalaegerszeg Traffic Prosecutor’s Office charged the man with the misdemeanor of negligently causing a fatal road accident, Dr. Judit Jánky, press spokesperson of the county prosecutor’s office.