Girl shares recovery journey after fatal Revda accident

We met with Lisa and her father at Irina Volkova«s rehabilitation center. In early January, her father carried her into the ward in his arms, and the very next day she took her first steps. We talked about the tragedy, how Lisa survived the disaster, her recovery, and doctors» forecasts.

The tragic accident occurred on October 27, 2025, in Revda. The driver, an active participant in the Special Military Operation (SVO), under the influence of alcohol and drugs, hit three girls. The schoolgirls were standing at the intersection when the car flew onto the sidewalk. Sisters Kira and Anya died on the spot; they were seven and nine years old. Their friend, fifth-grader Lisa, suffered severe injuries and lay in a coma for a day. Doctors at Yekaterinburg«s Hospital No. 9 saved her, but she could not walk.

«After discharge from Hospital No. 9, doctors told us: she might walk. For us, it was a shock (that Lisa might not get back on her feet and regain the ability to walk. — Ed. note),» recalls Konstantin, Lisa«s father.

During rehabilitation, Konstantin was with his daughter, taking sick leave — he is an electrician at a Revda plant. The mother stayed home this time with the younger children, who are very small: two and four years old.

When the disaster first happened, Lisa«s mother stayed with her in the hospital for several weeks, while Konstantin stayed home with the younger children. Now they have swapped. Since October 27, all the parents» lives and plans have been focused on one thing — Lisa«s recovery.

After discharge from the hospital, the girl was bought crutches, but she could not stand up and walk with them.

«In the end, we tried to persuade her for two weeks, but it didn»t work,« continues Konstantin. »There was a psychological barrier: uncertainty, fear that it would hurt.«

On January 8, Lisa came for rehabilitation at Irina Volkova«s clinic and already the next day took her first steps with the help of a walker.

«Thanks to the exercise therapy instructor Alexander Vladimirovich Kozlov, he is a true professional,» says Konstantin. «Thanks to him, Lisa started walking.»

Because her leg was in a cast in one position for a long time, Lisa could no longer bend it. In such cases, contractures begin to appear, and if rehabilitation is not started in time, the consequences can be severe: with advanced conditions, people may never fully extend their limbs. It is very good that they started working with Lisa on time: exercise bike, physical therapy, massage, exercises, walking on stairs. Lisa joins the conversation and talks about her progress.

«When we measured at the very beginning, the leg bent at 95 degrees, after a week — 89, then 61, then 41. Now everything is much better. Learning to bend my leg was very difficult for me,» the girl says.

Now Lisa walks on her own, but still with the help of crutches. The bone callus has only begun to form, and it is too early to fully load the leg, to rely on it completely. But doctors give good forecasts: Lisa will walk, and when fully recovered, she will be able to dance again.

The girl has been dancing in the «Rainbow» ensemble since first grade, performing at festivals in various cities across the country. In the summer, their ensemble became a laureate at a festival in Sochi. Friends and classmates have been in touch with her all this time, writing and supporting her.

On November 27, Lisa turned 11 years old. She was congratulated at school. Her parents then brought her in a wheelchair. Not only teachers and classmates gathered, but also unfamiliar children from Revda came to congratulate her. Lisa will likely be able to go to school after the spring break, for the last quarter. Although at that time, the girl will face another operation — removal of pins (part of these structures for proper bone healing has already been removed, but not all).

«Now the main thing is to start walking,» says Konstantin. «To say that everything is good, you can»t. Who knows how everything will turn out. Lisa also had lung problems due to the injury, and a concussion. For now, without false hopes.«

The perpetrator of the accident, Mikhail Slobodyan, is now in a pre-trial detention center, awaiting the end of the investigation and subsequent trial. It is known that he has written several petitions to have the criminal case dropped and be sent to the SVO, but was refused.

The tragedy caused a huge resonance in the city. Hundreds of people came out then to a spontaneous memorial, and residents simply would not understand if the perpetrator avoids punishment and then returns to the city as if nothing happened.

At the time of the accident, Slobodyan was a participant in the SVO; he was then on leave due to injury. Lisa«s parents saw him on the same day the disaster happened, in the emergency room of the city hospital. They were called from the hospital, told that their daughter was in serious condition. They arrived and there met the one who did this.

«It was immediately clear that he was on drugs,» Konstantin says tensely. «Black eyes, from alcohol they aren»t like that. The eyes of a demon. I can«t call him a human. I hope he won»t be allowed to go to the SVO and he will serve his sentence. So that he doesn«t find this loophole and then walk around schools with medals. We have a small town, you can»t hide anything, people told how before this he went to our clinic, shoved his SVO certificate so that everyone would let him through without a queue, ahead of grandparents.

I generally believe that for such a crime, it is fair to give a life sentence and strip him of his titles, orders, so that he doesn«t disgrace others. He took the lives of two, crippled the third. Lisa isn»t made of iron, she remembers her friends and cries. 15 years is nothing. I don«t want to remember... But we will, of course, go to court.»

Konstantin tells how in the beginning, in the most difficult days for them, many people came to their aid: both relatives, and teachers, and strangers. He recalls with gratitude how in the very first days volunteers, also participants in the SVO, contacted them. They organized a fundraiser for the family, and when possible, visited the girl in the hospital, brought games, coloring books, fruits — everything the doctors allowed.

«This crime against our children was committed by a participant in the SVO, which is exactly why we had to intervene, to help. There are no strangers» children,« says volunteer Anton Boetsky. »I remember, on the second day, we came home to mom and dad together with our psychologist, understanding that it is very hard for them now and a psychologist«s help is necessary.»

Anton — himself a participant, veteran of the SVO, combat veteran, activist of the public organization «Northern Man». He is sure that the perpetrator of the crime cannot be allowed to go to the special operation.

«He must be punished, serve the sentence assigned by the court. Such a person cannot be trusted with the defense of the Motherland, the execution of state tasks,» the combat veteran is sure.

The mother of the deceased girls, Svetlana Shipitsina, told how she lives after the tragedy, she is also against the perpetrator going to the SVO.

All news about the fatal accident in Revda we collect in a special section.