site.btaRoad Infrastructure Agency Bears Partial Blame for Deadly Skopje-bound Bus Crash on Struma Motorway in 2021, Pernik District Court Rules

The Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) bears partial blame for the deadly crash of a Skopje-bound bus near Sofia on Struma Motorway, which killed 45 and injured seven others on November 23, 2021, says a decision of the Pernik District Court, published on the institution's website on Wednesday.

The ill-fated bus was owned by the Besa Trans company, registered in the Republic of North Macedonia, and was the fourth and last one of a group of buses that went on the trip. The accident’s investigation was assigned to the National Investigative Service. The initial conclusions attributed the accident to human error, as the driver was driving too fast.

According to the court, RIA is liable for 10% of the damages suffered and should be ordered to pay each of the plaintiffs BGN 20,000 in non-pecuniary damages. The documents state that the section in question has not been issued Act 16 for a motorway and therefore has the status of an expressway, as the section was opened for traffic in 2007 at a Act 15 stage.

The court ruling also states that the driver was driving the bus at 106 kilometres per hour, when the maximum speed limit on the stretch was 120 kilometres. The design of the expressway did not comply with the geometric characteristics of the terrain.

"The designed cross-slope of the curve corresponds to a speed of 90 kilometres per hour, but there is no B26/90 kilometres road sign placed at the necessary locations to limit the speed," the court added.

The crash occurred shortly after 2:00 am on November 23, 2021 on the 31st km marker of Struma Motorway, close to the village of Bosnek (West Bulgaria). The bus, carrying 52 tourists returning to Skopje from a trip to Istanbul, crashed into the guard rail and caught on fire, burning completely. The following day was declared a day of national mourning in Bulgaria in memory of the victims in the deadly bus crash and nine victims of a fire in a nursing home in northeastern Bulgaria. The national flags of all state institutions flew at half-mast.

A civil lawsuit was filed with the Pernik District Court in January 2022, resulting in expert statements about the road section’s condition, including road markings, guard rails and road signs. Additional road signs along the section where the accident happened were installed by the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) in the beginning of this year.

Relatives of those who perished in the accident filed a lawsuit this August, demanding compensations of EUR 750,000 from RIA and the Bulgarian association of vehicle insurers. The lawyer claims that there were a number of irregularities on the road, such as confusing road signs and markings, low-quality guard rails and asphalt, which have contributed to the accident.