A triple automotive forensic examination regarding the case of the August 14, 2025, accident in Sunny Beach has definitively ruled out any technical malfunction of the ATV operated by Nikola Burgazliev. The findings, presented today before the Burgas District Court, indicate that the vehicle was traveling at approximately 28 km/h at the time of the collision. Expert analysis revealed that the driver did not engage the brakes before the impact; instead, the vehicle continued to accelerate.
According to the expert report, the trajectory followed a gentle left turn toward a side street, after which Burgazliev continued along the left side of the lane. This was followed by a sudden and sharp right turn that steered the ATV directly onto the sidewalk. The experts classified this maneuver as technically improper while reaffirming the absence of any evidence indicating a defect in the vehicle’s design.
In the courtroom, defense attorney Ivo Naydenov, representing the accused, raised questions regarding the machine's technical condition, citing witness testimony from a previous hearing. According to Nikolay Nikolov—the person who rented out the ATV—one of the safety guards had been removed in 2023. The defense insists on clarifying whether this modification had a direct impact on the vehicle's condition. The lawyers also questioned whether the machine had undergone technical inspections at a facility in Kableshkovo, leading the court to decide to summon the mechanic responsible for the daily checks of the rental ATVs for questioning.
Nikolay Nikolov himself, who provided the vehicle to Burgazliev, previously stated that an employee and a mechanic checked the fleet's condition daily. According to him, at the time of the rental, Burgazliev was in an adequate and visibly sober state and departed from the stand in a normal manner.
The incident occurred on August 14, 2025, around 1:00 PM. According to the indictment, after mounting the sidewalk, Burgazliev struck five pedestrians, including 35-year-old Hristina and four children who were returning from the beach. Hristina passed away on September 3, 2025, after a 20-day coma at the Burgas hospital, while her 4-year-old son is still recovering from his injuries. The prosecution continues to maintain that the act was committed with eventual intent.
The court also accepted the findings from drug tests conducted at the Military Medical Academy (VMA) in Sofia and Varna. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was detected in the defendant's blood and urine. The results of the re-examination at VMA-Varna were fully consistent with the initial ones. According to the experts, the detected quantity is indicative of incidental rather than systemic marijuana use, with the likely intake occurring between 36 and 48 hours before the fatal collision.