The accident occurred on Sunday, 14 November, around 21:00 or 22:00, as local publications reported. The driver of the Mazda 6, 23-year-old Roman Savych from the village of Zhydychyn, according to police, drove onto the sidewalk and hit the 60-year-old pedestrian. He then tried to evade responsibility, but near the 'Promin' entertainment center he was detained by passersby and patrol officers. A test showed 1.21 promille of alcohol. The car belonged to the driver's wife, as the newspaper 'Volynski Novyny' wrote.
Who Died
Oleh Vedmedenko was born in Lutsk in 1961. In 1997, he founded the Bible School of Spiritual Improvement at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and at the same time became a deacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. In 2006, after a conflict with that structure, he was ordained a priest of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and in 2012 he became a bishop. From 2013, he headed the Volyn and Galicia Diocese, and in 2015–2019 he was the primate of the Ukrainian Independent Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He was the rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Lutsk, an author of books, and a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
Autocephalous churches are Orthodox churches that govern themselves and do not submit to the Moscow Patriarchate. There are several such structures in Ukraine, and Vedmedenko belonged to those not recognized by all Orthodox communities in the country. For his flock, he remained a spiritual leader and mentor, and his death became an event for believers not only in Lutsk but throughout Volyn.
The Driver and His Past
Roman Savych, according to 'Volynski Novyny', had previously been convicted. In the summer of 2020, he attacked Lutsk municipal guards with a gas canister and received a sentence under Part 2 of Article 350 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: three years of restricted freedom. On 19 October 2021, the Volyn Court of Appeal upheld this sentence. The punishment had not been enforced at the time of the accident. This fact became one of the central points in publications on 17 November, when the media reminded of the driver's previous conviction.
Police reported the severe injuries sustained by the bishop. As TSN reported, doctors in the hospital fought for his life until the end:
'Doctors fought for his life until the last, but on the morning of 15 November his heart stopped,' the police reported.
Death occurred on the morning of 15 November at the Lutsk City Clinical Hospital. Vedmedenko was 60 years old.
Charges and Trial
Proceedings were opened under Part 3 of Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This article concerns the violation of traffic safety rules by a person driving a vehicle while intoxicated, if this resulted in the death of a person. The penalty under it ranges from five to ten years of imprisonment. The driver's guilt has not yet been established by a verdict, so this refers to the investigation's version.
On the evening of 15 November, a liturgy was held at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, and on 16 November the funeral service and burial took place in the church courtyard. The deceased's sons, Vasyl and Pavlo Vedmedenko, serve in the church, and Vasyl became his father's successor at the parish. The story of the bishop's death was covered by national media: TSN, Ukrinform, and Glavkom reported the incident on 15 November.
On the same day, 16 November, the Lutsk City District Court, presided over by Judge Alla Paliushko, whom 'Volynskyi Post' called Poliushko, imposed a pre-trial measure of detention for 60 days without the right to bail. The detention period was set until 12 January 2022. The interests of the deceased's family in the proceedings are represented by lawyer Roman Khomych, and Savych's first defense lawyer was Orest Uryn. A day later, on 17 November, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine published an obituary recalling Vedmedenko as an author of books and a member of the union.
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