The 22-year-old Bulgarian woman who was responsible for the deaths of three people in a road accident in April has been sentenced to four years in prison. Iva E.Y. was found guilty of crimes against traffic safety for having driven under the influence of drugs and alcohol, of three charges of reckless homicide and one of recklessly causing injury.
The trial had been scheduled for two days, but her admission and acceptance of guilt meant that proceedings in court today were over within half an hour. She told the court that she had never meant to do what happened. A family member of one of the three people who died said: "But you did it. You're not going to remedy anything. Four years is a gift for you."
In addition to the four-year sentence, she was disqualified from driving for six years and she has paid compensation of 700,000 euros to families of the victims as well as 8,000 euros to the occupant of the vehicle who was injured and 5,375 euros for the motorcycle involved in the accident.
Because of the number of relatives and friends who attended the trial, some of whom were unable to get into the courtroom, a dozen National Police officers were drafted in to ensure control.
The trial was the consequence of events on 16 April. Iva E.Y., then 21, was driving a high-end BMW at speeds of between 120 and 170kph in an "uncontrolled" fashion and with constant lane changes. She lost control of the car and collided with a motorcyclist who was killed instantly. The car left the motorway near to the exit for Portals Nous and turned over several times. Two occupants were killed, a third suffered various fractures, while she was critically injured and spent several days in Son Espases Hospital.
Tests showed that in addition to alcohol she had taken ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana and benzodiazepines. Furthermore, she didn't have a valid driving licence.