Driver had no permit or insurance in fatal rollover

The driver who is facing involuntary manslaughter, for the death of a 5-year-old girl in a Larnaca accident last month, was driving without a valid driver’s permit or car insurance.

Penchev Milen Stefanov, a 34-year-old Bulgarian national, pleaded guilty to causing the death of 5-year-old Maria Christina Demetriou and he faces additional charges of negligence, reckless driving, and driving under the influence.

Stefanov, whose sentencing hearing was initially scheduled for July 10, will remain behind bars for another ten days, after police received further details from Bulgarian authorities.

The judge at the Larnaca District Court heard on Tuesday that the defendant will now face additional charges for driving without a valid driver’s permit and not having third-party insurance.

No other individuals are being charged in the case.

Stefanov had fallen asleep at the wheel on Monday, June 25, when his car rear-ended a pickup truck with a family of five inside, causing it to swivel and rollover killing the young daughter of the family.

Police said nobody in the pickup truck was wearing a seat belt.

The Bulgarian driver tested positive for opioids, with him later telling investigators he had been seeing a psychiatrist and taking prescribed medication.

The accident came hours after another man, a father of two was killed in similar circumstances earlier in the morning in Limassol, with his two daughters surviving and seeing their dad take his last breath on the asphalt.

Also, days after the two accidents, another woman was driving four children from Larnaca airport when she lost control of the vehicle, with the car speeding out of control and rolling over.

Her daughter and another girl in the back seat were killed at the scene, both 11-year-old girls, who were also not wearing their seat belts.

No charges were filed in the other two cases.

Stefanov’s sentencing hearing has been rescheduled for July 20.