One year after the accident of the chocolate tanker on the A2 motorway, the trial began of a 61-year-old driver who is accused of causing the crash.
On May 9, 2018, the world’s media reported that a tanker carrying 12 tons of liquid chocolate spilt its precious cargo across A2 highway in Poland. The tanker overturned near Słupca before 5 am. The driver of the vehicle was injured and the motorway towards Warsaw was completely blocked for several hours due to the spilt chocolate.
According to the police, the driver could have fallen asleep at the wheel. A few months after the accident, the police issued a ticket to the trucker for causing a collision for the amount of PLN 200 (approx. 46 euros). The event was classified as a collision because no one was injured except the driver. Jacek K., a driver with 40 years of experience, did not accept the ticket claiming to be innocent.
The police, therefore, brought the case to court. At the beginning of May this year, the District Court in Słupca started the trial. According to the local media, Judge Urszula Bożecka decided to appoint a traffic accident expert to determine the cause of the incident.
“I could feel the moment when I started to rise into the air. I probably drove my left wheel over some obstacle that was on the highway,” said the driver in court, adding that in his 40-year career he had never fallen asleep at the wheel.
“I’m sorry to hear someone accusing me of falling asleep. Having driven for 40 years as a professional driver, I have never known anything like this to happen to me. Besides, if I want to sleep, I’m going to sleep, and if I want to work, I’m working. Especially since the company where I worked and transported chocolate never required long driving times. They wouldn’t put any pressure on drivers or rush them,” the driver told the journalists after the trial.
The trucker is facing a fine of PLN 5,000 (approx 1150 euros). The date of the next hearing was set for September this year.
The man has announced that he will fight for an acquittal.
The costs of the court and the attorney will certainly exceed the PLN 200 fine the police wanted to impose on me. But I think it’s not my fault and that’s what I’ll stick to,” he told the reporters.
Photo:ITD