Croatia’s defence minister, Mario Banozic, was sacked by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic after causing a traffic collision in Vukovar, in which one person died and Banozic was seriously injured. Banozic was overtaking a truck in bad weather when he crashed into a van coming in the opposite direction. The van driver died in the crash and Banozic was hospitalised with head and brain concussions and multiple body traumas. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic removed Banozic from duty due to extraordinary circumstances. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.
The prosecutor’s crash report states that Banozic was overtaking another vehicle at 6am without checking if it was safe and considering weather conditions. He was apparently going hunting, and his car was found turned on its side next to the wrecked van.
“We are expressing our condolences to the family of the person who was killed,” government spokesman Marko Milic said on X.
