The accident occurred on 14 November on Vasyl Moisei Avenue in Lutsk. According to the official version, the driver of the Mazda 6 drove onto the sidewalk and hit a pedestrian. Police stated that “the accident occurred on 14 November, on Vasyl Moisei Avenue, in the regional centre,” and that the victim, who was 60 years old, “later died in hospital.”
Oleh Vedmedenko was born on 18 September 1961 in Lutsk. In February 1997 he founded the Bible School of Spiritual Perfection at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, and in 2006 he was ordained a priest. In 2012 he was consecrated a bishop, and from 2013 he bore the title of Volyn and Galicia. In 2015–2019 Vedmedenko was the primate of the UNAPC, served as rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, and wrote books.
Diverging accounts
The official and editorial versions differ in details. According to the police, the driver is 23 years old, a resident of Lutsk, and a test at a medical facility showed 1.21 promille. According to Volynski Novyny, he is 22 years old, from a village in Kivertsi Raion, and the alcohol level was 1.27 promille. The publication also named the driver: according to its data, he is Roman Savych. As T1 wrote, in 2020 Savych attacked Lutsk municipal guards with a gas canister and received three years of restricted freedom under Part 2 of Article 350 of the Criminal Code. On 19 October 2021 the Volyn Appellate Court upheld this sentence, but the punishment was not being enforced.
The driver was detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows the detention of a suspect in the commission of a crime. The car was sent to an impound lot. Proceedings were opened under Part 3 of Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code, which concerns violation of traffic rules by a driver in a state of intoxication. According to the investigation and witnesses, the driver went to the parking lot of the Promin shopping and entertainment centre, where he was detained by passers-by and patrol officers. Among the witnesses were Ihor Vasyliuk and Maksym Olishchuk.
Farewell and the first court decision
On the evening of 15 November a memorial service was held at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. On 16 November the funeral service and burial took place in the church courtyard. On the same day the Lutsk City and District Court, Judge Alla Paliushko presiding, ordered the driver held in custody for 60 days without bail, until 12 January 2022. The parish passed to the deceased’s son, priest Vasyl Vedmedenko, while another son, Pavlo, serves in the church.
On 17 December 2021 a video of the moment of the accident was published. The family of the deceased sought to have the case also qualified under Article 135 of the Criminal Code, which concerns failure to provide assistance. On 24 December the investigation was completed, and this article was added. On 10 January 2022 the custody was extended until 10 March. Prosecutor Natalia Havrus asked for a nine-year sentence.
On 22 February 2022 Judge Ihor Yaselskyi delivered the verdict: eight years and six months of imprisonment and nine years of deprivation of the right to drive. On 7 September 2022 the Volyn Appellate Court upheld the verdict.
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