The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has requested the Prosecutor's Office of Brasov Court, the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, and the National Institute of Forensic Science to publicly disclose the reasons why no solution has yet been found in the tragic death of student Andrei Șerban Ionescu, who was hit by a car driven by a police officer who had consumed alcohol. Nine months after the fatal accident, the authorities have not completed the criminal investigation, and the police officer involved is being investigated while remaining at liberty.
On November 30, 2024, Andrei Șerban Ionescu, 21, a student at the Faculty of Automation and Computing in Bucharest and multiple award winner at national and international computer science competitions, was the victim of a fatal accident in Poiana Brașov. On the evening of the tragedy, he and his girlfriend were forced to walk on the road to avoid a pile of snow, at which point they were hit by a car traveling in the opposite direction. The impact was fatal for Andrei, while his girlfriend suffered serious injuries and required hospitalization.
According to information published in the press, the driver was Vlad Roșca, a police officer with the Special Operations Unit of the Iași County Police Inspectorate. At the time of the accident, he was under the influence of alcohol, with a blood alcohol level of 1.7 g/l in the first test and 1.54 g/l in the second test. Before the impact, the police officer drove approximately 200 meters in the wrong direction, endangering the lives of other drivers.
Although he was initially detained and then remanded in custody for 30 days, Vlad Roșca was released after approximately three months. Meanwhile, the victim's family complains that the criminal investigation has not made any progress. Even nine months after the incident, the technical vehicle inspection report is not ready. This is essential to determine the speed at which the police officer was driving and the exact circumstances of the accident. Andrei Șerban Ionescu's parents offered to pay for the report out of their own pocket, but the procedure remained blocked, and the institutions did not provide clear explanations.
FACIAS requested the Prosecutor's Office of Brasov Court to communicate the status of the investigation and the reasons why, nine months after the fatal accident, the criminal investigation has not been completed. FACIAS also asked the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police to specify what measures had been taken against police officer Vlad Roșca. At the same time, FACIAS requested the National Institute of Forensic Science to communicate the status of the technical examination of the vehicle involved, which is essential for establishing the circumstances of the accident.
The lack of answers from the authorities explaining the seemingly unjustified delays in such a serious case involving a police officer violates the principle of expeditious criminal proceedings and fuels public perception that this case is being covered up and that the justice system is protecting the police officer who caused the young man's death.