Croatia’s defense minister fired after fatal accident

Government

Because he is said to have caused a fatal traffic accident, the Croatian Defense Minister Banozic been dismissed from his position. A man was killed in the collision. Banozic himself was seriously injured.

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In Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic dismissed Defense Minister Mario Banozic from office after a fatal traffic accident. The head of government of the NATO country announced this at a press conference in Zagreb on Saturday afternoon.

Banozic’s car collided head-on with a delivery truck on a country road in eastern Croatia early on Saturday morning. The 40-year-old driver of the van died in the accident and the minister suffered serious injuries.

As the public prosecutor announced on Saturday, according to the current state of the investigation, Banozic caused the accident. He had overtaken a truck with his car near the small town of Vinkovci, where he lives, and as a result collided with the oncoming delivery truck. There was poor visibility due to fog.

Banozic out of danger

Banozic is in the intensive care unit of the hospital in Osijek, but his life is out of danger, hospital doctors announced to the media. Prime Minister Plenkovic expressed his deepest condolences to the relatives of the accident victim on behalf of the government.

Initially, the head of government had entrusted Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman with the management of official business at the head of the department. He ultimately appointed the previous State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, Zdravko Jakop, as his successor. Jakop was a former army general. Among other things, he graduated from the NATO Military Academy in Rome. (dpa/thp)

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