The "Šipka 2000" hillclimb, held on Sunday, 06 August 2000 in Stara Zagora province, central Bulgaria, was suspended as a result of a fatal accident which resulted in the death of a female spectator and six other persons injured.
The accident occurred at 10h02. A minute after the start, the Škoda Octavia entered by the BAMS team and driven by Martin Kralev went out of control at the first sharp left turn of the course. The car flew off the road and crashed into a bus next to which a group of spectators were standing, at a distance of about 60 meters from the track, striking almost five persons.
Boryana Radeva Karaterzieva, 25-year-old, was killed almost instantly by the out of control car. Born in the village of Kran near Kazanlak, Bulgaria, she was standing in front of the restrictive yellow line for spectators. Her brother, an employee of "Road Assistance" on duty at the hillclimb, was in shock.
According to eyewitnesses report, the car crashed against the parked bus and ran under it. All the victims who were standing in front of the bus were injured from the waist down. Among the spectators who were taken to Stara Zagora Hospital, were Radi Tonchev aged 11, Borislav Nikolov, 16, Hristo Kharlev, 49, and Veselin Kovachev, 18-year-old, from Kazanlak, who was listed in critical condition. He was in the intensive care unit with an amputated leg, with his life in danger. The driver Martin Kralev suffered slight injuries in the accident.
Owing to the tragedy, the hillclimb was immediately stopped. The event was a round of the 2000 Bulgarian Hillclimb Championship. The crash was the second with fatal consequences which happened in Bulgaria within three months, after the deaths of two spectators at the end of May, during the Albena Rally.
R.I.P
