Higher fines are not enough. Reckless drivers who repeatedly break Highway Code should have their licences revoked or be jailed, - father of 12-year-old Hrisha Hlushych, who died in road accident. VIDEO
The father of 12-year-old Hrisha Hlushych, who died in a road traffic accident in Kyiv, has called for tougher penalties for repeat traffic offenders.
He made this statement during a press conference, according to a Censor.NET correspondent.
What is known?
"The road traffic accident that took place on 5 June at Karavaevy Dachi was no accident. The driver had previously committed 39 recorded offences alone. And how many unrecorded ones? This person deliberately accelerated and swerved into the public transport lane. He saw that the traffic light was red. And he did this because we have impunity. Because he knew he would face no consequences for running a red light or for speeding," emphasised Oleksii Hlushych.
He considers this unacceptable and intolerable.
"We heard the Prime Minister’s statements, which she made a few days after this tragedy. And we’ve seen the draft bill tabled by the government to increase fines. We’ve submitted a petition on the President’s website demanding systemic changes. It’s not enough just to increase fines.
Drivers like Pavlo Pleshyvtsev, who had 39 recorded offences alone, will simply pay the increased fines, continue to put their foot down on the accelerator, and keep killing our children. It is not enough to increase fines; we urge you to support our petition," Oleksii emphasised.
What does the petition call for?
"We demand strict accountability for serious traffic offenders. Serious offences must be punished with more than just fines. And we have heard many suggestions as to how to punish them. The draft bill tabled by the authorities contains almost nothing on serious offences.
Furthermore, in the petition we call for repeat offenders to be punished. If a person is not doing this for the first or second time, their driving licence should be revoked. That person should have to walk. And if someone is driving without a licence – which is also common – their car should be confiscated and they should be sent to prison," emphasised the father of the late Hrisha.
In comments to reporters, Oleksii Hlushych stated that they had not communicated with senior government officials regarding the petition.
"But we sought advice on how to word the petition so that it would be accepted. We had no direct contact with either the president or the Office of the President," he explained.
The mother of the deceased 12-year-old Hrisha, Oleksandra Terletska, noted that she has been receiving messages from relatives of people who died even though their deaths were not a result of Russian aggression.
"During this time, people have died on the roads in road traffic accidents that could have been avoided. These are horrific stories of drink-drivers, of people who fled the scene after causing an accident and who have still not been found. These are unacceptable stories; things that should never happen," she emphasised.
Terletska noted that over the four years of full-scale war, Ukraine has lost more than 12,000 people in road traffic accidents.
"There have been 15,000 civilian casualties of the war. And the number of those injured is staggering. The number of people injured in road traffic accidents is almost three times higher than the number of civilians injured by air strikes or by the rampaging Russian forces. So I believe this is sufficient reason for everyone on whom these decisions depend to find the strength and resolve to take action, to do at least something," she added.
Fatal road accident in Kyiv on 5 June 2026
- As a reminder, on 5 June in Kyiv, the driver of a Mercedes car drove at high speed into a pedestrian zone near Karavaevy Dachi in the Solomianskyi district.
- Senior Police Lieutenant Dmytro Bondarchuk, Police Lieutenant Denys Budchenko and 12-year-old Hryhorii Hlushych, whose father is currently serving in the war, were killed at the scene.
- Iryna Lazareva, a staff member at a pre-school, was also killed.
- The court remanded the killer driver, Pleshyvtsev, in custody; he had driven into an underpass in Kyiv, killing four people.
