Ukrainian Lawmaker Acknowledges Involvement in Road Accident Leading to Death of 18-Year-Old

Andriy Nikolayenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, acknowledged running over and killing an 18-year-old girl with his car.

“Today, the worst possible thing for a driver happened to me – a person died under the wheels of the car I was driving,” the parliamentarian wrote on his Facebook page, saying he would fully cooperate with the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), including undergoing examinations.

Before his admission, regional National Police from the Zhytomyr region reported that at around 9:45 a.m. on Friday, a Mercedes-Benz GLE, heading in the direction of the city of Chop on the Kyiv-Chop highway, ran over an 18-year-old girl, who had been on foot.

“The car driven by the people's deputy ran into a pedestrian. The underage girl died at the scene from her injuries,” the DBR's later said, acknowledging the parliamentarian’s involvement.

“I was sober, and I did not violate any traffic regulations, but the tragedy was unavoidable,” said Nikolayenko, who’s a member of the Batkivshchyna political party, and who is a member of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax, and customs policy.

“A profound tragedy has occurred, one that cannot be reversed or undone,” Nikolayenko wrote. “True despair is when you find yourself unable to influence the situation in any way. My deepest condolences to the family.”

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Ukrainian lawmakers were advised to limit their presence in the area and were urged to ensure the safety of their families.

The State Bureau's detectives, deployed to the scene, which was in village of Berezovtsi, are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.

The incident has prompted the consideration of potential criminal charges under Part 2 of Art. 286 of the Criminal Code, which could result in a prison sentence ranging from three to eight years.

At press time, Kyiv Post had not received comments from the Batkivshchyna political party.

In 2008-2009, Nikolayenko served as an assistant-consultant to People's Deputies of Ukraine from the Party of Regions Yuriy Karakai and Serhiy Larin.

Between 2011 and 2013, he held the position of First Deputy Head of the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, and subsequently served as the head of this Regional State Administration from Jan. 9, 2013, to March 2, 2014.

From March to September 2014, he assumed the role of the first deputy head of the Donetsk State Administration, overseeing the reconstruction efforts in Sloviansk following its liberation from Russian occupation, along with the restoration of water and electricity supply in the city.

In 2019, he was elected as a People's Deputy of the 9th convocation from the Batkivshchyna party, occupying the 19th position on the list as a non-partisan candidate.