Polish drivers sentenced for fatal crashes

In early July 2026 an Italian court sentenced Krzysztof Lewandowski to three‑and‑a‑half years in prison and a three‑year licence suspension for a September 2025 collision in Brivio that killed two pedestrians. Shortly after, the District Court in Wejherowo gave 18‑year‑old Michał G. a five‑year prison term and a ten‑year driving ban for the November 2025 Kurowo crash that claimed two teenage passengers; the verdict remains subject to appeal.

On 16 July 2026 the Warsaw Regional Court imposed a 20‑year imprisonment on Łukasz Żak for the September 2024 Trasa Łazienkowska crash. Prosecutors proved Żak drove under the influence, exceeded the speed limit by more than 200 km/h, filmed the ride on his phone and fled the scene with help from friends. He was later arrested in Lübeck, Germany, under a European arrest warrant and returned to Poland. The judge emphasized Żak’s “zero reflection” and ordered a lifetime driving ban, a conditional release only after serving 15 years, and civil damages of 300,000 PLN to each of the deceased victim’s relatives, 150,000 PLN to an injured passenger, and 10,000 PLN to the Victims‑Support Fund. Four co‑defendants received custodial terms of two to five years.

These July 2026 rulings illustrate an increasingly stringent judicial approach across Europe toward fatal traffic accidents caused by intoxicated, unlicensed or reckless drivers, with long custodial sentences and extensive driving prohibitions becoming the norm.