You're reading: Deputy in second fatal auto accident

Parliament Deputy Leonid Chernovetsky was behind the wheel of a Mercedes that struck and killed a pedestrian late Nov. 2.

. 2, his press secretary has confirmed.

The man killed on Nov. 2 is the second pedestrian killed by a Mercedes linked to the Kyiv-area deputy and honorary president of Pravex-Bank on the same stretch of road in less than seven months.

The UNIAN news service reported that the latest fatality occurred at about 11 p.m. on Nov. 2 on Stolychne Shose, where another Mercedes registered to Pravex Bank struck and killed 10-year-old Maksym Prokopchuk last April 15.

The driver of the car that killed Prokopchuk abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene of the accident. No charges have been filed in the boy’s death.

Chernovytsky, 53, has denied involvement in the accident and ownership of the Mercedes, but at the time expressed grief at the boy’s death, telling reporters that he hoped Maksym had gone to heaven.

Little information on the latest death was available from official sources late on Nov. 4. Police refused to provide information about the accident or its investigation, and would not release the victim’s name or age.

“When it’s an easy case, an investigation can be opened and closed quickly,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Zarubytsky. “But when the situation is not clear, the investigation takes more time.”

On Nov. 4, the Kyiv TV channel reported that the victim was Dmytro Koropchenko, a Poltava oblast native currently residing in Kyiv’s Holosiyvsky district. The station reported that Koropchenko was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The station also reported that investigation of the case had been transferred to the Interior Ministry from local police, contrary to normal practice.

Zarubytsky said that he was unaware of the details of the incident, but maintained, “I can assure you that no special treatment is being accorded Mr. Chernovetsky because he is a parliament deputy.”

Kateryna Shapoval, Chernovetsky’s press secretary, told the Post on Nov. 4 that the deputy had not been arrested in the latest death, but confirmed that Chernovytsky was driving the automobile when the accident occurred.

“Chernovetsky called the police himself,” Shapoval said.

She said that the Mercedes involved in the latest accident was not the same vehicle that struck and killed Prokopchuk.

In both deaths, Chernovytsky’s representatives have attempted to place responsibility on the victims.

In Prokopchuk’s death last April, Pravex-Bank spokeswoman Tetyana Salnikova said that the accident was not the driver’s fault.

“[It] was an accident caused by the carelessness of the victim,” she said.

Prokopchuk, a fifth grade student, was killed within 100 meters of Kyiv School No. 151 in a clearly marked pedestrian crossing at about 9:20 p.m. A traffic signal at the crossing was not working at the time, however.

Chernovytsky spokeswoman Shapoval said that tests had confirmed that the victim of the Nov. 2 accident was “very drunk.”

Stolychne Shose is a route regularly used by Koncha Zaspa residents commuting from the city center. Koncha Zaspa is an upscale residential area that is home to many of the city’s wealthy and influential citizens, including Chernovetsky.

– Peter Byrne and Roman Olearchyk contributed to this report.