The tragic incident occurred on the evening of March 20 in Olszyna (Lubań County). The driver of an Opel, 22-year-old Krzysztof S., drove onto a lit pedestrian crossing and struck a man crossing the road. The victim died in hospital. The young man was placed in pretrial detention and faces up to eight years in prison. His parents began a fight for their only child. We wrote about the case in the article: What are the parents of the young man who fatally struck a person at a crosswalk asking for?

This case has sparked strong emotions and controversy. A man who was crossing at the crosswalk died. What punishment should the driver receive?

Krzysztof S.'s defense lawyers, attorney Katarzyna Bachciak and counsel Wojciech Kasprzyk declared that they would fight to have the young man released from pretrial detention. Less than two weeks after their declaration, the young man is leaving detention upon payment of a PLN 60,000 property bond. In a live discussion, we will ask about the circumstances of this release. Join us today, Thursday, April 8 at 6:00 p.m.

Statements by the attorneys

Katarzyna Bachciak:

There were no grounds for detention.

At present, we cannot conclude that the punishment will be severe.

The bail is very high. The parents did not have that amount of money available. Fortunately, they managed to obtain it.

I cannot answer why the bond was set so high.

Let us remember the fundamental principle of criminal law: until a verdict is handed down, the suspect is presumed innocent.

Krzysztof S. burst into tears when he heard that he would be released from detention.

We are at the beginning of the criminal proceedings. The fact that Krzysztof S. left detention does not mean that he will not be held accountable for his actions.

He will remain at liberty until the verdict is issued.

We do not know how long the proceedings will take.

Wojciech Kasprzyk:

Our client was sober at the time of the incident—there were no grounds to detain him.

In my opinion, the prosecutor's office in Lubań crossed the boundaries of good taste.

It is embarrassing and laughable that we are relying on the testimony of only two witnesses.

Let us put ourselves in the situation where someone runs under our wheels. So what? Are we supposed to be arrested?

The prosecution's documentation does not hold together.

When the detention was lifted, the comments on online forums changed.

There was an accident, a person died, it was a tragedy—what could we possibly tamper with?

We will wait for all the materials and expert opinions, for example, regarding the speed at which Krzysztof S. was driving.