Based on witness statements, today the Sarajevo Cantonal Court (KSS) continued the trial of Armin Berberović, accused of a serious traffic accident in the Marindvor neighborhood of Sarajevo, in which young female doctors – Azra Spahić and Alma Suljić – died at the end of May 2023.
The continuation of the evidentiary proceedings in this case was marked by the poignant testimony of the mothers of the victims – Adele Suljić and Aida Spahić.
Recalling the night on May 26, 2023, Adela Suljić said that her younger daughter Edina, who was also injured, informed her about the tragic events at the scene, after which she called Alma’s husband, and they went to the emergency room center.
She described in detail the chronology and dynamics of events related to her daughter’s medical treatment, stating that due to extremely serious injuries, she was transferred to the Department of Anesthesia and Reanimation after diagnosis, where she was intubated, and that the medical staff then stated that they had not had a more serious patient in a long time.
In direct questioning, the mother said that her daughter Alma was in a coma the whole time and that she underwent operations, but that, unfortunately, her condition was getting worse and that after her lungs failed, she was connected to a machine, and that since the moment she was injured, she never came consciousness, and that after four weeks she passed away.
A visibly shaken Adela Suljić asked the Trial Chamber to take into account all the circumstances and condemn the accused in the strictest terms.
Aida Spahić, the mother of the victim Azra Spahić, confirmed that she was informed about the tragic event during the night from May 26 to 27, 2023, and that she had previously given a statement about it in the Una-Sana Canton Prosecutor’s Office. She added that she was unable to say anything further.
The witness Damir Trbović was an eyewitness to the suffering of the young female doctors, and he recalled how on the fateful night he was driving towards Marindvor, and that he was overtaken by a red Mercedes at the Hygiene Institute, more precisely on the part of Titova Street near the Bičakčić Dental Practice.
Answering the questions of the prosecution representative, prosecutor Iva Kurilić, the witness stated that it was raining that night and that he was moving at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour, and that he assumed that the vehicle that overtook him was moving at 70 to 80 kilometers per hour.
In the rest of his testimony, he told how the accused was doing a ‘slalom’ with the vehicle and that before coming into contact with the victim at the pedestrian crossing at the junction with Dolina Street, he most likely lost control, and that the vehicle drifted, skidded and rotated due to inertia even after knocking down the sign bans ended up nailed to the wall of the bakery ‘Bonjour’.
According to his own testimony, the witness went out to help the victims, and that in the meantime the police patrol and an ambulance arrived, and that the accused got out of the car and looked lost.
Berberović’s indictment, charged with a criminal offense – serious criminal offenses against the safety of public transport in connection with endangering the safety of public transport.
The accused is charged with, as a traffic participant, not complying with traffic regulations, endangering public traffic by endangering people’s lives, which resulted in the death of two people, while one person suffered minor injuries.
The investigation established that Berberović was driving without a driver’s license, with the presence of alcohol and amphetamines in his blood, and that he was previously known for numerous violations, Fena news agency writes.
