A dreadful moment

Staviski Officially Charged; Withdraws From Grand Prix Events

Maxim Staviski, the two-time World ice dance champion, has been arrested and officially charged in the death of a man in a car crash. He has been granted a bail of BGN 2000. It is unclear if that bail has been paid.

The news came out of Germany, where prosecutor Svetlozar Kostov was visiting, according to the Sofia News Agency, Novinite.com. “The bail should be paid within a three-day period. As far as I know it has not been paid yet," Kostov said.

Staviski, who skates with Albena Denkova, won gold at the World Championships in 2006 and 2007. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

At the scene of the Aug. 5 crash, police gave Staviski an alcohol breath test, which he failed. Staviski had a blood alcohol concentration of 1.1 g/1000ml. The legal limit in Bulgaria is 0.5.

Staviski was driving a Hummer, a gift from a Sofia automobile dealer, when the crash occurred on the road that connects the Black Sea towns of Sozopol and Tsarevo. He allegedly was speeding when he veered into traffic in the other lane, reportedly causing the accident.

The Bulgarian dancer’s vehicle collided with a Honda Civic, which was then struck by an Audi. The driver of the Honda, Petar Petrov, 24, was pronounced dead at the hospital. A young woman in the front passenger seat of Pertov’s car suffered a fractured skull and is in a coma. Two other people, including Petrov's younger brother, were also injured in the crash.

Petrov was to be married in October; his funeral was held Aug. 8.

"I feel deeply and sincerely for the families of the victims of the car crash," Staviski said in a statement he sent to FOCUS News Agency, which was published on-line in August. "I can’t find the words to express the way I feel."

Denkova and Staviski spent time training in the United States at the University of Delaware in Newark, N.J . In a telephone interview with International Figure Skating magazine in May of 2006 from Bulgaria, Denkova said she loved living in America. She added, “The laws are so much stricter in America, even the drivers have to be careful. Finally, Max had to slow down! Of course, he’s driving crazy again back here in Bulgaria and Russia, as if he’s trying to compensate for all that slow driving he had to endure last season.”

The two have withdrawn from their two Grand Prix assignments.

For our initial report, see: http://www.ifsmagazine.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=447.