Driver Sentenced to 12 Years for Crash Killing Seven
The Yustinsky District Court of the Republic of Kalmykia has sentenced 42-year-old Vitaly Krechetov for a fatal traffic accident that killed seven people, four of them residents of Volgograd Region. The investigation established that the man was under the influence of narcotics at the time of the crash.
The accident occurred on 19 May 2025 at around 02:00: the Volgograd–Astrakhan bus collided with a truck. The next morning it became known that of the 18 injured, seven had died. Later, the number of fatalities among residents of Volgograd and the region was revealed: a total of four people from the region became victims of the fatal crash.
Shocking videos from the crash site appeared on anonymous Volgograd Telegram channels. According to representatives of the company that owned the truck, the bus drove into the oncoming lane, causing the collision. Meanwhile, bus passengers reported that the driver was nearly falling asleep on the road.
That same day, the identity of one of the victims was revealed — tour guide Margarita Pronina. The woman was traveling to Astrakhan for her son«s graduation; he was only 19 years old. Margarita»s mother was also traveling with her to congratulate her grandson and also died in the crash.
The verdict was handed down today, 4 February, in the Yustinsky District Court of the Republic of Kalmykia by Judge Alexander Chimidov. The 42-year-old Vitaly Krechetov was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
«The Yustinsky District Prosecutor«s Office supported the state prosecution in the criminal case against the 42-year-old resident of Volgograd Region,» the relevant agency reported. «He was charged under Article 264, Part 6, Paragraph »a« of the Russian Criminal Code — »Violation of traffic rules by a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving a vehicle, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence.« It was established that on 19 May 2025 at 02:05, the driver of the scheduled Volgograd–Astrakhan bus, driving a Volkswagen Crafter minibus on the federal highway R-22 »Kaspiy«, while under the influence of narcotics, drove into the oncoming lane and collided with a FAW J7 truck. As a result of the traffic accident, seven passengers of the Volkswagen Crafter suffered injuries that led to their deaths. Considering the opinion of the state prosecutor, the court imposed a sentence of 12 years in a general-regime correctional colony, with a ban on engaging in activities related to driving vehicles for 2 years 6 months.»
