Penza, 4 March 2016. PenzaNews. The driver of the Mercedes minibus, which was involved in the March 2 crash with the freight truck by Penza on the M5 “Ural” federal highway that left 9 dead, was placed in the pretrial detention center.

© PenzaNewsBuy the photo

“The granted request for the measure of restraint came to the Bessonovka area court from the preliminary investigation body. The accused has been placed in the pretrial detention center until May 2,” the press service of the Penza region Ministry of the Interior department informed “PenzaNews” agency.

The driver in question has been detained and faced the charges on March 2 under Art. 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“The investigation found that the route of the minibus that ended with the tragedy was the first one of the day, as he arrived to Penza from Ulyanovsk on the day before and had the time to rest properly. The criminal case will feature a number of court inspections, including that of the car proper, to establish the technical status of the minibus at the moment of the crash,” the police said.

As PenzaNews reported earlier, the tragic accident that involved a freight truck and a Mercedes minibus en route from Penza to Ulyanovsk occurred on the 665th kilometer of the M5 “Ural” federal highway in the afternoon of 2 March 2016, leaving 9 people dead – Anastasia Lazareva, 20-year-old student of the Art College, a 24-year-old pregnant woman, three women born in 1936, 1958 and 1983, and four men born in 1956, 1970, 1985 and 1990.

Three people – the two drivers and a 4-year-old boy – were hospitalized in moderately severe condition.

According to preliminary information, the minibus used summer tires and exceeded the speed limit, which caused the tragedy. In addition, the driver, an Ulyanovsk citizen, had been fined multiple times for speed limit violations.

The Penza region law enforcement forces initiated two criminal cases on the tragic incident: under Part 3, Art. 238 of the Criminal Code, “Production, Storage, Carriage or Sale of Goods and Products, Fulfillment of Works or Rendering of Services Which Do Not Meet Safety Standards,” and under Part 5, Art. 264 of the Criminal Code, “Violation of Traffic Rules and Rules for Operation of Transport Vehicles.”

In addition, the Ulyanovsk region prosecutor’s office will be investigating the company “Vektor-Argo” that owns the crashed minibus.

The driver of the minibus in question has been detained under Art. 91 of the Criminal Process Code. he is currently kept in the hospital under police convoy guard. Only investigators are allowed to see him.

The Penza region authorities will pay compensations of 200,000 rubles to the families of the regional citizens that died in the tragic accident.