Grandmother of 12-year-old Siyana who died in car accident: I cried for help because the child was dying in my arms, the driver didn't come to help

A protest and procession against the deadly roads and corruption that kills took place in Sofia on April 7.

The occasion was the tragic death of 12-year-old Siyana in a car accident.

The protest turned into a procession that stopped in front of various institutions and ended at the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA).

The director of the agency said he would resign if this would stop children dying on the road. The Minister of the Interior announced that a package of measures would be proposed to improve discipline on the roads. The Ministry of Justice is ready with measures to speed up the preparation of expert reports, which are often the reason for delays in cases. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov will convene a meeting at the Council of Ministers tomorrow on road safety and combating the war on the roads to take swift action.

• Parents who lost their children on the road: We fight for the right to life of others, it's too late for ours

"We are fighting so that every child can fulfill their dreams and to fulfill the dreams of our children who won’t succeed. Our children were filled with dreams and they stayed there, crushed on the roads of Bulgaria," said Petya Ivanova from the "Angels on the Road" association.

With the slogans "Enough is enough" and "We don’t have more children to kill," families who have lost children in accidents and members of the public gathered in front of the Court House to fight for the right to life.

"Yesterday it was our children, today it’s Siyana, tomorrow it will be the next children of Bulgaria. Until when?" asked Antonia Terzieva.

The bereaved parents demanded strict measures and accountability from the institutions for the war on the roads.

"We forget what both Serbs and Macedonians understood - corruption kills, that at all levels, when someone does not do their job, someone dies," said Plamen Velev.

The protesters held a procession to the responsible institutions. With shouting slogans "Resignation," they gathered under the windows of the Road Infrastructure Agency. Their reasons – lack of adequate maintenance of the road network, inaction regarding warnings about dangerous sections on roads, and ineffective use of public funds.

• If you think there is negligence - there is no such thing

BNT: "Is it true that the resignation will not be submitted for the sake of one child?"

"This is not true; such a thing has not been said. We are parents. If you think there is negligence – there is no such thing," said Eng. Yordan Valtchev, Chairman of the Management Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency.

BNT: Would you resign?

"I am not married to this agency, and if everyone wants, I will resign. The issue is that when I resign, it will be just like every other time – nothing new will happen. These problems have been around for a long time – highways are not being built. Many things are delayed – and they will be delayed even more," emphasised Eng. Yordan Valtchev.

The management of the agency invited some of the protesters for a talk. However, they were not satisfied due to the lack of concrete measures. The chairman of the management board called for increased monitoring of the section where Siyana died, as heavy trucks were regularly creating conditions for accidents.

"The police have recommended that we limit the speed to 70 km/h. However, we have decided to reduce it to 60. It turned out that there was a regulatory obstacle to reducing it from 90 to 60 km/h, so we brought back the 70 km/h signs, and after that there are the ones for reducing the speed to 60," explained Eng Yordan Valchev.

From Varna, the Minister of the Interior, Daniel Mitov, explained that he would propose comprehensive measures to Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, one of which is to deploy unmarked vehicles with Ministry of Interior personnel on the roads to monitor aggressive drivers and heavy trucks that do not comply with the Road Traffic Act.

"To ease the way fines are imposed, i.e. to be imposed immediately by the police rather than continuing with this two-tier system of imposing fines for offences. We are talking about average speed detection. This is an initiative by some Members of Parliament, it is yet to be discussed and ways of introducing it effectively will be considered. There are also other measures – placing posts on road sections with a high concentration of accidents and using raised road markings," said Minister of the Interior Daniel Mitov.

The driver involved in the accident in which Siyana died has 18 traffic violations, mostly for speeding. Siyana’s grandmother told protesters in Pleven about the moment of the crash.

"The child was not crushed, the child was killed. The driver stopped and did not come to help us. For three minutes I was screaming for help because my child was dying in my arms," Siyana's grandmother said.

"Sentences for such repeat offenders should not be conditional and locked in prison dormitories, but directly in prison. The killers of Vesi, Ivan, and Siyana are repeat offenders on the road," said Viktoria Deneva.

The Ministry of Justice, in turn, is ready with measures to speed up the preparation of expert reports, which often cause delays in cases.

Minister Georgiev: One of the main problems is slow justice.

"We are introducing exams for all experts to acquire certification, mandatory annual training by the state for all experts. The Ministry of Justice will have the power to request the removal of those experts who delay cases. We are introducing the possibility of video conferencing for hearings. We are working to tighten penalties without the risk of them being overturned by the Constitutional Court," explained Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev.

In the Telish-Radomirtsi section, red road markings and noisy transverse markings will be installed. The RIA is also starting urgent safety measures on the 36 sections of the national road network where there is a high concentration of accidents.