Zeljko was 19 years old: instead of preparing his wedding, we buried him, if he had stopped to help him, he could have been alive

Photo: Hola / Masanori Yoshida

“He hit him with a car and he ran away. If he had stopped to take him to help him, he could have survived. He could have been disabled, but he would have been alive. However, he ran away. Instead of preparing a wedding for his granddaughter, he we’re burying. Tragedy. ” .. “

With these words, the confession begins with Nikola Perić, the grandfather of Željko Ristić (19) from Šanovac, who was killed after he was hit by a drunk driver of a “golf2” MP from nearby Doljevac.

– My wife and I sit at home and wait for him as always. He worked the second shift at the APTIV factory in Leskovac and was always at home until 10:35 p.m. He comes, has coffee, sometimes dinner, sometimes not, however, now he was gone … I thought maybe the traffic was crowded and he would come later. Five more minutes pass – he’s gone and I tell the woman: invite him to see where he is – says Nikola, the dead young man’s grandfather.

As he says, his wife and Željko’s grandmother called him, but the invitation was declined.

– At that moment, we saw the police pass our house with rotating lights. My wife tells me “there is an accident on the street”. I went out and people tell me that a guy was hit by a car. I tell them: ‘My grandson doesn’t have the sea. He always arrives at 10:35 and now he’s gone. ‘ We were getting closer to the accident site and when we got closer a few meters we saw that my grandson Željko was lying next to the road. – says the unhappy man.

After getting off the bus, Nikola walked on the left side of the road in the direction of Doljevac, with a dirt belt several meters wide, which is enough for pedestrians to walk safely, but the “golf”, which comes from behind, in the direction of Zitoradja, he crossed to the other one times he ran off the road and killed him on the spot.

– As we learned, the driver was in a tavern in Žitorađa, drinking brandy and beer there. On the way back, he overtook or lost control of the vehicle, so he crossed to the other side and hit Željko, who was walking down the road … If he had at least stopped to take him, to help him, he could have survived. However, the driver escaped – the story through the tears of the dead young man’s grandfather.

He adds that there were some guys near the scene of the horror, who immediately called the police.

– He was not saved, he killed him on the spot he says through tears.

Grandma Dragica, who is crying, cannot regain consciousness from the shock.

– I always hope that he gets home from work, because he does not sleep until he sees me and kisses me. He tells me. Grandma, I can’t do without you. Last night I was waiting for him and screaming: ‘Oh, he left, he left, he left …’ I send him a message, I call, they reject my call. I saw the police in the street, I came out in my nightgown. I yell at my husband: ‘Nikola is dating, my son is gone.’ I wrapped myself in a jacket, went there and they brought me back. I pushed the policeman, I approached him, to see him, and two people brought me back … The ambulance arrived after half an hour, there the driver was sobered up, his head was left empty. He went to the ambulance in Doljevac, as if he was starting to drown, so the ambulance took him to Nis for a search. Željko was killed, and he didn’t step on an ant either; the desperate grandmother regrets it.

He was one of the best workers

Grandpa Nikola says that Zeljko was a hard worker and that he worked and finished school part time.

– Zeljko finished ZIS secondary school in Nis, enrolled part-time in his fourth year and got a job at the APTIV factory in Leskovac. She first worked at Leona for a year and has been working at APTIV since September. He was considered one of the best workers in the Leskovac factory. A young man, just beginning to live, and was very communicative, cheerful. He cooperated with everyone, he joked. Instead of marrying him, we bury him – says Grandpa Nikola.

One of Zeljko’s relatives says that he was a well-mannered young man.

– The whole town adores him … We see him every day, with a backpack on his back, a mask in his mouth and at work. He was a very meticulous boy. As soon as he finished school, he got a job right away, he wanted to work alone. The best worker was in Leskovac, everyone praises him – says one of Željko’s relatives.

He was driving with 1.5 per thousand of alcohol in his blood.

The police found and arrested the MP (38) in the vicinity of Doljevac on suspicion that last night in Šanovac, while driving a “golf2” car, under the influence of alcohol, he ran into Željko Ristić (19) from Šanovac, who died at the scene from his injuries. According to the police statement, the MP is suspected of wandering off in an unknown direction. Unofficially, he had 1.5 per thousand alcohol in his blood.

– The pedestrian was returning from the midpoint when the MP hit him in a car and inflicted injuries, of which he died on the spot. After that, the MP immediately left the scene to see if any parts of the mirrors and body remained. Police soon learned that a drunk driver had been admitted to the toxicology department, so a control determined that he was the person who caused the serious accident. – says the source.

By order of the Higher Public Ministry of Nis, the suspect was detained for up to 48 hours and will be brought before the prosecutor with a criminal report, the police announced. He is suspected of having committed the crimes of endangering public traffic and failing to assist a person injured in a traffic accident.