IRKUTSK, Russia -- The daughter of a former Russian official has been given a suspended sentence for causing a road accident that killed one person, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
Anna Shavenkova, the daughter of a former regional election commission head, was found guilty of causing the December 2009 traffic accident at the heart of the case.
Driving at speed, she lost control of her car, which mounted a sidewalk and hit two sisters, Yelena and Yulia Pyatkova (see video of the accident here). The elder sister, Yelena, later died in hospital, while the younger sister, Yulia, was severely injured.
WATCH: Caught on closed-circuit television, Shavenkova's reaction after her car slammed into the pedestrians infuriated many who saw it, as she took out her purse and used her phone without ever checking on the obviously seriously injured victims.
The court in Irkutsk in southwestern Siberia found Shavenkova guilty of manslaughter and handed down a 2 1/2-year prison sentence suspended for 14 years. She was also stripped of her driving license for three years.
Shavenkova said today in court she was "very sorry for what happened."
A representative for the victims commented after the verdict was pronounced that "there is no justice in Russia."
Read more in Russian here
Anna Shavenkova, the daughter of a former regional election commission head, was found guilty of causing the December 2009 traffic accident at the heart of the case.
Driving at speed, she lost control of her car, which mounted a sidewalk and hit two sisters, Yelena and Yulia Pyatkova (see video of the accident here). The elder sister, Yelena, later died in hospital, while the younger sister, Yulia, was severely injured.
WATCH: Caught on closed-circuit television, Shavenkova's reaction after her car slammed into the pedestrians infuriated many who saw it, as she took out her purse and used her phone without ever checking on the obviously seriously injured victims.
The court in Irkutsk in southwestern Siberia found Shavenkova guilty of manslaughter and handed down a 2 1/2-year prison sentence suspended for 14 years. She was also stripped of her driving license for three years.
Shavenkova said today in court she was "very sorry for what happened."
A representative for the victims commented after the verdict was pronounced that "there is no justice in Russia."
Read more in Russian here
