Two boys injured in a crash caused by a drunk football coach have been discharged from the Children's Hospital at Brno University Hospital and sent home for outpatient care. The hospital's press office confirmed the news, while dismissing online rumors of an additional child fatality.
According to hospital spokeswoman Lenka Martinková, two children who had been treated at the pediatric surgery, orthopedics and trauma clinic have already been sent home. Two other boys, who had been in the pediatric anesthesiology and intensive care unit, have been moved to the intensive care unit at the pediatric surgery clinic — a move that may indicate their condition is improving, though the hospital has not officially confirmed this.
The coach responsible for the crash remains hospitalized as well. He faces up to six years in prison for causing death by negligence, though prosecutors may upgrade the charge to a more serious one.
The mayor of Střelice, a village near Brno and home to both the football club and the coach, has urged residents to refrain from discussing the tragedy on social media and to avoid spreading unverified information before the investigation is complete.
"The circumstances of the crash are being investigated by the Czech police. It's important that all the details are thoroughly established and appropriate conclusions are drawn," wrote Mayor Jiří Vašulín on the village's Facebook page.
He noted that the tragedy has affected the entire community, and that people should treat the matter with respect for the privacy of the affected families. "Responsibility for one person's actions cannot be shifted onto his relatives or loved ones who had nothing to do with what happened," he stressed, calling on residents to avoid personal attacks and the spread of information that could hurt the children and family of the boy who died.
The accident occurred on Wednesday near Doubravník. The young footballers from Střelice were nearby at a training camp. The coach, who was intoxicated, was driving the children to a practice session. Along the way, he first swerved into the oncoming lane, then veered off the road and crashed into a tree. The car, designed to carry five people, held the coach plus five children at the time. One child died at the scene.
Read also: Brno: What to See and Where to Go
Source: novinky.cz