Fatal accident suspect Łukasz Ż. in custody in Poland

Łukasz Ż. was extradited to Poland under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) after approval from a German court. He is suspected of having caused an accident in September when a Volkswagen, allegedly driven by him, plowed into a Ford, which then hit the traffic barriers.

A family of four was traveling in the Ford. The crash took the life of a 37-year-old man, while his 37-year-old wife and their two children, aged four and eight, were hospitalized. A passenger in the Volkswagen, which the suspect was reportedly driving, was also injured.

Łukasz Ż. was detained in Lübeck, Germany, where he had been residing for the past few weeks. Polish police officers took custody of him from their German counterparts at the Kołbaskowo border crossing. He will spend the night in a cell in a Warsaw detention center, and on Friday, he will likely be questioned, with the prosecutor expected to request his temporary detention.

Łukasz Ż., who has a history of multiple offenses, has faced numerous convictions for driving under the influence, driving without a license, fraud, and drug possession. Courts have banned him from driving on five separate occasions, with most sentences requiring him to complete community service. However, he once served an 11-month prison term for violating a driving ban.

His most recent conviction, related to another breach of a driving ban, was issued just under two months before the tragic accident by the District Court for Warsaw's Praga Północ, sentencing him to return to prison for a year and a half. However, this decision had not yet taken legal effect at the time of the accident.

In connection with the incident, several associates of Łukasz Ż. were also detained, including Mikołaj N., Damian J., and Maciej O.

"As witnesses to the traffic accident, they failed to assist the victims and instead impeded the investigation by helping Łukasz Ż. evade responsibility, initiating and facilitating his escape," explained Piotr Skiba, spokesperson for the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office.

Additional arrests in the case include Kacper K., who had access to the Volkswagen involved in the incident, and Aleksander G., in whose apartment Łukasz Ż. stayed after the accident. All detained individuals have now been formally charged.