MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) – An obstetrician was convicted in Moscow of causing a car crash that killed her in 2010 – the first time a person is formally ruled guilty after their death in Russian legal practice.
The case made headlines due to unconfirmed allegations that traffic police and courts were covering up for the other party involved in the crash, deputy head of oil giant LUKoil, Anatoly Barkov, who survived the incident without serious injuries.
Police closed the case in 2010, blaming the incident on the victim, Olga Alexandrina, who died along with her passenger.
But Alexandrina’s relatives appealed to the Constitutional Court, which ruled that cases involving dead people cannot be closed without approval of their family. Before, cases where the defendant was dead were dropped without reaching the court.
Though Alexandrina’s relatives sought to have her cleared and Barkov’s driver blamed for the crash, a district court in Moscow formally convicted her of violations of traffic rules that resulted in deaths on Friday. No punishment was appointed.
Alexandrina’s relatives promised to appeal. They cited in court the findings of an independent investigation by prominent motorist group Federation of Car Owners, which blamed Barkov’s car for the crash. Barkov and police have dismissed the alternative check.
The husband of Alexandrina’s passenger died from cerebral hemorrhage during the proceedings in 2010. Last February, LUKoil announced that it set up a grant to support their orphaned daughter until she comes of age.
