On Saturday, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovič dismissed Defense Minister Mario Banožič, who was involved in a fatal traffic accident near the town of Vinkovci in the east of the country.
Croatian Minister of Defense Mario Banožič.
Banožič himself suffered serious injuries in the accident that took place early Saturday morning at the exit from Vinkovci. According to Croatian media, he was on his way to a hunting trip and was overtaking a truck in poor visibility when he collided head-on with a smaller van in the opposite direction, whose 40-year-old driver did not survive the accident.
Banožič was hospitalized in a hospital in Osijek with bruises on the chest, head and broken leg, but he is conscious and out of danger.
«You have heard about the circumstances of the accident… We express our sincere condolences to the survivors of the victim and concerns regarding the condition of the minister, who is hospitalized with serious injuries,» Prime Minister Plenkovič said at a press conference on Saturday.
«I relieved Minister Banožič of the position of Minister of Defence,» he added, adding that he had appointed State Secretary Zdravko Jakop to lead this department.
After a few hours after the accident, the experts came to the conclusion that the 44-year-old driver of the passenger car was responsible for it.
Until now, it was not immediately known what speed Banožič was driving at the time of the accident. They also took blood and urine samples from the ex-minister, which were sent for expertise. According to the Croatian media, he faces a sentence of one to 15 years in prison for causing a traffic accident resulting in death.
