Deputy Prime Minister Anja Šimpraga confirmed to Hina on Saturday that the driver was the head of her office.
The accident occurred on Friday in Štikada, near Gračac, about 70 kilometres inland from the coastal city of Zadar. The 45-year-old driver, driving under the influence of alcohol, skidded off the road and hit a 10-year-old child who was walking by the edge of the road in the opposite direction. He attempted to leave the scene without helping the injured boy, police said.
The child suffered multiple injuries and was transferred to the Gospić General Hospital and from there to the Zagreb Clinical Hospital Centre, where he underwent surgery. “He is now in stable condition and his life is not in danger,” the hospital’s director Ante Ćorušić told Hina.
Šimpraga said that the police were investigating the case and that she would initiate the procedure for the dismissal of her head of office.
“As soon as we learnt this, we contacted the boy’s family to express our regret for this unacceptable and unjustifiable act. What is most important is that the child’s condition is stable, and we wish him a speedy recovery,” Šimpraga said.
