Investigation Finds No Grounds for Detaining Major Arrested in Pregnant Woman’s Hit-and-Run Case

On April 26, the traffic police officer Aram Navassardyan, who was arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run involving a pregnant woman on Leo-Paronyan Street, has been released. According to defense attorney Ruben Baloyan, Navassardyan has been charged under the second part of Article 242 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, which concerns violations of requirements aimed at ensuring road traffic safety that negligently led to someone's death.

Baloyan stated that the investigative body found no grounds for detaining the accused and did not submit a request for detention to the court. Instead, a signature not to leave the premises was chosen as a preventive measure for Navassardyan.

It is noted that a criminal case was initially initiated based on the characteristics of leaving the scene of the incident; however, no charges were filed against Navassardyan for this.

“He was present at the scene, participated in the examination. He was simply dressed in civilian clothes so that the situation would not escalate. He was at the scene, signed the report. Under these circumstances, there is no concept of escape,” emphasized the lawyer.

Baloyan indicated that Navassardyan has not expressed any position regarding the charges but has provided testimony. When asked if there was a need for a confrontation with eyewitnesses, Baloyan responded that such a necessity arises only when there are contradictions among those involved in the case, which currently do not exist.

In response to a clarifying question about whether there are any eyewitnesses asserting that Navassardyan left the scene, the lawyer reiterated that there are numerous videos showing that he participated in the examination of the scene; leaving and returning is not an act prohibited by law.

The defense believes that there is no culpability in Navassardyan’s actions, as he operated within the rules of road traffic, with the expert stating that he entered the intersection under a non-prohibitory signal. Specifically, the intersection was controlled, thus the traffic lights, road signs, and markings do not apply.

Recall that on April 26, around 18:05, one of the cars from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government motorcade struck 28-year-old pregnant woman Sona Mnatsakanyan at the intersection of Leo-Paronyan and Proshyan Streets. She was transported to Nairi Hospital, where she died without regaining consciousness. The life of the fetus could not be saved either.

Eyewitnesses reported that after the incident, the convoy departed without stopping to assist the victim. The Investigation Committee has since confirmed that the driver of the aforementioned vehicle left the scene of the traffic accident and departed.

According to the same source, the driver returned to the scene at 20:05, approximately two hours after the incident, when it had already become known to the press, and participated in the ensuing investigative actions.

A criminal case has been initiated under the second part of Article 242 and the first part of Article 244 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, within the framework of which the squad commander has been arrested.