Today, the High Court in Belgrade sentenced Dušan Jovanović to eight years in prison and found him guilty of a serious traffic accident near Ada Huja in November 2014, in which three young people lost their lives, and one person was seriously injured.
Jovanović was also given a two-year ban on driving a motor vehicle, and he will spend the time in custody until serving his sentence.
The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, on the occasion of the pronouncement of the verdict, announced that based on the good management of the procedure and the quality evidence collected, the Higher Court was able to pronounce the first-instance verdict within only five months from the confirmation of the indictment.
"Thanks to a well-done investigation and collected evidence, the first-instance verdict was handed down in a very short time, with all the allegations of the indictment fully confirmed," the prosecution's press release states, adding that 37 days passed from the day of the traffic accident to the filing of the indictment.
The court found that Dušan Jovanović committed a serious crime against traffic safety, because he caused an accident in November 2014, in which three of his friends died, while drunk and without a license.
Nemanja Antić (18), AS (16) and Miloš Janković (20) were killed in the accident, when the car landed in the Danube, and Milica Jokić (18) and Luka Višnjić (18) were injured.
Judge Slavica Nikolić, explaining the verdict, stated that it was established that the accident happened as stated in the indictment, but that the panel had a dilemma regarding the punishment.
As she stated, the panel was of the opinion that general prevention would not have been achieved with a lesser sentence, but also that the fact is that three young lives were lost due to Jovanovic's arrogant driving and behavior.
An aggravating circumstance for Dušan Jovanović was the fact that he committed 27 traffic violations before the accident. Eight of those times he drove without a license.
In his closing speech, Dušan Jovanović emphasized that he regrets everything and that he would do anything to bring back his three comrades.
Bonus video:
