Fatal traffic accident prison sentence increased

A driver charged with causing a fatal accident has had his prison sentence increased to three years following a decision of the court of appeals made public on Tuesday.

The increase from the previous term of 22 months followed an appeal by the attorney-general (AG), who cited the insufficiency of the shorter term to act as a deterrent.

The sentence was imposed on a 35-year-old driver found guilty, after admission, of causing death through a reckless, dangerous or negligent act, following a fatal traffic accident in Yermasoyia in December 2022.

The victim of the accident was 62-year-old Hungarian national Marta Tyorjanne, mother-of-two, who died in the collision while driving home after her shift.

The fatal incident occurred as the 35-year-old, accompanied by a 27-year-old passenger, was traveling east on Vasileos Georgiou Street. Ignoring traffic signals at the intersection with Panayioti Tsangari street, the driver, speeding recklessly, collided with Tyorjanne’s vehicle while the 62-year-old was attempting to enter the road.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the collision resulted from a combination of excessive speed, alcohol impairment, and violation of a red light by the 35-year-old driver.

The court of appeals issued its unanimous decision on Monday, accepting the appeal of the AG, who challenged the first-trial sentence of 22 months as manifestly insufficient, not satisfying the purposes of the Law, not protecting the public, not acting as a deterrent and neither reflecting the seriousness of the offence.

The revision was necessary to serve the purpose of punishment and send the right message to would-be offenders, especially since such offences are steeply on the rise, the AG argued.

The appeals court in its decision agreed, noting that in light of increased incidences, it was deemed necessary to give a deterrent character to the imposed sentence, and that the shorter term failed to address the seriousness of the crime.

The defendant, in addition to the three-year prison sentence, was also sentenced to 10 penalty points, fines and the deprivation of his driver’s license for three months from the day of his release from prison.