Horrific accident in Karlovac: Former Croatian national team player Nikola Pokrivač killed

(Patria) - On a section of the D-1 state road, the so-called Turan bypass in Karlovac, a serious traffic accident occurred last night around 8:15 PM, in which two people died and several others were injured.

One of the victims is former Croatian national football team player Nikola Pokrivač (39), who played for NK Vojnić 95. The other deceased is a Slovenian citizen, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The police released details of the accident. They confirmed that the accident was caused by the deceased Slovenian citizen who was driving an Audi with Austrian license plates.

He was overtaking over a solid line and collided head-on with a BMW in which Pokrivač and his teammates were traveling.

The police state that the car with Austrian national markings was driven by a 42-year-old Slovenian citizen traveling south, and at a location where there was a solid dividing line, he began an illegal overtaking maneuver.

While moving into the lane intended for vehicles from the opposite direction, he struck and hit a car with Zagreb license plates, driven from the opposite direction by a 40-year-old Croatian citizen.


Photo: KAportal

In further uncontrolled movement, the vehicle with Austrian national markings first hit a vehicle with Slovenian national markings driven south by a 23-year-old citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was thrown by the force of the impact into a metal guardrail and then onto the state road, and immediately after that, it also hit a vehicle also with Slovenian national markings, also driven south by a 27-year-old citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the traffic accident, the 42-year-old driver of the car with Austrian national markings and the 40-year-old driver of the vehicle with Zagreb license plates died at the scene.

Passengers from the vehicle with Zagreb license plates, a 35-year-old and a 31-year-old Croatian citizen, were seriously injured, while a 27-year-old passenger from the same vehicle sustained life-threatening serious bodily injuries. These are Pokrivač's teammates from NK Vojnić.

Additionally, a minor, a 16-year-old Slovenian citizen, a passenger from the vehicle with Austrian national markings, later sought medical assistance. As previously reported, she is the daughter of the deceased from the Audi.

The investigation was led by the deputy county state attorney in Karlovac.

Traffic on the section of the state road where the horrific accident occurred was interrupted from the time of the incident until 1:25 AM.

After the completion of the criminal investigation, a report on the traffic accident will be forwarded to the competent state attorney's office, the Karlovac Police Department announced.