Prague police find no crime in MP Turek's car crash case

In central Prague, the review of a July car crash involving MP Filip Turek and the driver of a hospital vehicle has concluded: according to Prague police, no signs of a crime were found, and the case has been referred for consideration as an administrative traffic violation.

What the police decided

According to Prague police spokesperson Eva Kropáčová, the review and the findings of a forensic medical examination found no evidence of the crime that had prompted the investigation on the prosecutor's instructions. She said the supervising prosecutor raised no objections to this decision.

“The facts established so far indicate suspicion that both participants in the traffic accident committed an offense against road safety and smooth traffic flow. For this reason, police have forwarded the case to the relevant administrative body — the Prague 2 municipal district — for further proceedings and a decision,” the police spokesperson concluded.

How the crash happened

The collision occurred on July 13 at the intersection near I. P. Pavlov Square. According to footage from the scene, the MP was overtaking a line of cars in the turning lane just before the collision, while the hospital vehicle was sounding its siren as it crossed the intersection. Turek's car entered the intersection alone and struck the rear of the hospital vehicle, which was thrown into the air, narrowly missed — by a few meters — a group of pedestrians waiting at the crossing during its uncontrolled flight, and landed on its roof.

Turek himself was unharmed in the crash; the driver of the other vehicle was taken by paramedics to a trauma center with multiple injuries. According to an earlier police statement, the road markings and signs at the site were in order and matched the engineering plans.

What those involved are saying

The hospital vehicle's driver, František Černý, did not know the case had been referred for administrative proceedings. “I don't deal with that, my lawyer does. And I don't care either way,” he said. He declined to comment on Turek's claims that he had spoken with the driver and that his injuries were minor — Turek said he was at home with “a scraped elbow.”

After the crash, Turek himself said he would not invoke parliamentary immunity if police asked the Chamber of Deputies to hand him over for criminal prosecution. He claimed to know the traffic rules and expected the review's findings to be in his favor. According to him, by sharply swerving his car to the right he saved the other driver's life. Turek also said that if police named him as the party at fault, he would resign as the government's commissioner for climate policy.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said after the crash that Turek would not attend cabinet meetings until the investigation was complete, and that he should step down if found at fault. The Ministry of the Environment said in July that Turek would not take part in meetings, official appointments or leadership sessions at the ministry.

Police also reviewed dozens of Turek's earlier social-media posts for hateful, racist or sexist content, but closed that case in August due to the statute of limitations.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz