A truck driver who crashed into a bus on the outskirts of Moscow, killing 18 people and injuring dozens of others, has pleaded guilty to causing the accident.
Speaking through a translator, Grachya Arutyunyan, an Armenian citizen, testified Thursday in a Moscow city court that he understood the charges against him and pleaded guilty to having been at fault for accident, which took place last July.
Arutyunyan, 46, who at the time was driving a Kamaz truck loaded with rubble, ran an intersection near the village of Oznobishino in Moscow and slammed into the side of a passenger bus, slicing the bus in two.
However, Arutyunyan, who racked up seven traffic violations in 2012, pleaded not guilty to the charge of having knowingly used fake documents to work in Russia.
The charge of vehicular manslaughter resulting in the deaths of two or more people carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
The prosecution argued that Arutyunyan had been aware that his truck's braking system was malfunctioning but failed to make repairs, had overloaded the truck with gravel, and violated several traffic rules when running the intersection.
Eighteen bus passengers died at the scene or in hospital later, and about 30 others were hospitalized with injuries, including 15 in critical condition.
Acting Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov called for a tightening of the punishment for traffic violations, reviving previous such calls by Moscow officials following previous accidents.
But the head of the Movement of Russian Motorists, Viktor Pokhmelkin, said that the intersection where the crash occurred was known for frequent collisions, and the president of the Moscow-based Board for Legal Defense, Viktor Travin, said that more should be done to prevent violations from occurring in the first place.
Read More:
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
![paiment methods](https://static.themoscowtimes.com/img/contribute/payment_icons.png)
Remind me later.