Romanian minister will not be investigated in a car accident he committed, prosecutors conclude

Prosecutors decided Transportations Minister Ludovic Orban will not be criminally investigated regarding the car accident he committed on December 16 last year; the magistrates said Orban hit a 14-year-old girl yet the injuries were so minor that his deed it is not a crime.

Prosecutors said the car accident the minister committed was caused due to "unfavorable weather conditions". The car Orban drove easily injured a 14-year-old girl and than hit a nearby parked car.

The investigators found out the girl’s parents did not tell the truth about the accident, as they previously said their daughter was not hit by Orban’s car and that she tripped and fell.

Doctors decided the girl needs some three days of medical care, this prompting prosecutors to decide Orban’s deed is not a crime. A minimum of 10 days of medical care is needed for the minister’s deed to become a crime, according to the law.

Ludovic Orban in December denied hitting the minor girl and pledged to resign from all positions if the authorities would prove the opposite.

He declared he got out of the car after he hit the Matiz and asked the car's driver to call the emergency number 112. He said he waited for the police, but they failed to show up.

Orban admitted he should have announced the accident immediately, yet he laid on the table three reasons for exceeding the 24-hour deadline: family issues, a medical exam he underwent and coordinating the snow cleaning operations in Bucharest.

Orban declared he had a speed of 50-60 kilometers per hour when his car skidded on ice. He added he was not drunk at the time of the accident denying media speculations. The car accident took place on the Cotroceni road (downtown Bucharest).

Police officers and interior minister controlling the police said no victims were reported. Witnesses told Cotidianul shortly after the accident, several policemen came and took the car number plates from Orban’s car allegedly trying to hide what had happened.

Orban got his driver’s license suspended for a month after reporting too late the accident. He also has to pay a 195 lei (55 euros) fine.

NewsIn