The accident occurred on the evening of 14 November 2021 on Vasyl Moisei Avenue in Lutsk. According to the prosecution, 23-year-old Lutsk resident Roman Savych, previously convicted and intoxicated, drove his Mazda 6 onto the sidewalk and struck the 60-year-old bishop. The driver fled the scene without rendering assistance, although he had the opportunity to do so. He was detained by passers-by Ihor Vasyliuk and Maksym Olishchuk, as well as patrol police officers, when he tried to escape toward the parking lot of the Promin shopping center.
Oleh Vedmedenko was born in Lutsk on 18 September 1961. In 1997, he founded the Bible School of Spiritual Perfection at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, was ordained a priest in 2006, and became a bishop in 2012. From 2013, he headed the Volyn and Galician Diocese, and from 2015 to 2019 he was the primate of the UNAPC. The Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Lutsk, where he served as rector, became the center of his community, and he remained a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and an author of books.
The Verdict and Its Grounds
The court qualified Savych's actions under Part 3 of Article 286-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which deals with traffic safety violations resulting in the death of a person, and under Article 135, which provides for liability for leaving a person in danger. In addition to eight years and six months in prison, he was deprived of the right to drive for nine years. Until the verdict enters into force, the convicted man remains in custody. The prosecution conveyed the wording of the sentence as follows:
“deprivation of liberty for a term of 8 years and 6 months”
Prosecutor Natalia Havrus asked the court to impose nine years. Thus, the court imposed a milder sentence than requested, but significantly stricter than the minimum term that could have been imposed under the article. The interests of the victim's family in the proceedings were represented by lawyer Roman Khomych, and Savych's defense in court was led by Pavlo Poletylo.
The Driver's Background and the Course of the Investigation
Savych had been at the center of a criminal case before. In the summer of 2020, he attacked Lutsk municipal guards with a gas canister and was sentenced under Part 2 of Article 350 of the Criminal Code to three years of restricted freedom. On 19 October 2021, the Volyn Court of Appeal upheld this verdict, but the sentence was not enforced. Less than a month later, the accident on Vasyl Moisei Avenue occurred.
The bishop died on the morning of 15 November 2021 at the Lutsk City Clinical Hospital. On the same day, an investigator opened proceedings under Part 3 of Article 286-1 and detained the driver. In the evening, a litia 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. On the same day, the Lutsk City District Court, presided over by Judge Alla Paliushko, imposed on Savych a measure of restraint in the form of custody for 60 days without bail, until 12 January 2022.
On 17 December 2021, a video of the accident was published, after which the victim's family sought to have the driver's actions qualified under Article 135. On 24 December, the investigation was completed, and Part 1 of that article was added to the charges. On 10 January 2022, the detention period was extended until 10 March 2022.
At court hearings, Savych denied fleeing the scene. On 7 February 2022, he gave such testimony in court, and on 11 February, a number of witnesses were questioned. The verdict handed down on 22 February was the result of a process that lasted three months from the moment the driver was detained, and Savych remains in pre-trial detention.
1
