The court acquitted both men being prosecuted for the collapse of the Prague Troja footbridge

Prague - The court in the case of the collapse of the Prague Troja footbridge acquitted both the designer Jiří Stráský and the head of the bridge department of the Technical Administration of Communications (TSK), Antonín Semecký. Today’s verdict is not final; the prosecutor requested suspended sentences for both men and retained the right to appeal. The footbridge collapsed in December 2017, resulting in serious injuries to four pedestrians.

“It has not been proven that the act for which the defendants are prosecuted occurred,” said the chairman of the panel of the District Court for Prague 7, Dalibor Ryšlavý. Both men faced two to eight years in prison for negligent endangerment.

The collapsed footbridge connected Troja with Císařský Island, with hundreds of people walking on it daily, including families with children heading to the nearby zoo. The prosecutor stated in today’s closing speech that TSK should have issued a recommendation to close the footbridge no later than November 2016, when it was already evident how serious the disruption of the bridge system was and the significant risk of structural collapse. According to him, the footbridge had been leaking since its commissioning in 1984, indicating Stráský’s negligence. Semecký, according to the prosecutor, grossly erred by accepting the state of the footbridge as correct from his position.

"We believe that the project by the accused Stráský was without faults. This is supported by opposing expert opinions and the testimonies of witnesses and experts,” responded the judge. "Although the accused Semecký had numerous reports warning of the emergency state of the footbridge, none stated that it should be closed,” he further pointed out. He added that Semecký devoted above-standard care to the footbridge and that TSK took steps to ensure the footbridge remained operational, although two Prague floods eventually intervened.

Seventy-six-year-old university professor Stráský defended himself by claiming that the footbridge maintainer was salting its surface, which he should not have done. He also pointed to inappropriate repairs of the footbridge, of which he claimed he was not informed. He denied that there had been cracks in the structure beforehand.

"I thank my colleagues who believed in me,” Stráský told reporters as he left the courtroom. He added that he would be asking the state for reimbursement of costs incurred for his defense. He would also like the Czech Chamber of Authorized Engineers to address the quality of the expert opinion underpinning the indictment. He argued that its author, Jaroslav Marek, lacked the necessary experience and "did not support his conclusions with even elementary calculations."

Eighty-year-old Semecký stated that none of the information he had indicated the need to close the footbridge. He also emphasized that at the time the structure collapsed, he had not been the head of the relevant bridge department for eight months. "I am not aware of having neglected anything in my position. Of course, I regret what happened, but I am convinced that I do not bear responsibility for it,” he told the court.

The city of Prague is seeking 8.2 million CZK from both men as compensation for the expenses incurred in removing the debris. Insurance companies are seeking 2.4 million. The judge referred the injured parties to civil proceedings. Prague had previously paid each of the injured 50,000 CZK. Additional funds were provided to the injured by insurance companies, which did not disclose the amount of compensation.

During the collapse of the footbridge, men born in 1957, 1974, and 1983 and a woman born in 1954 were injured. The men suffered broken bones or vertebrae. The woman fared the worst, being transported to the hospital by rescuers with bleeding in her brain and abdomen, as well as fractures of the skull, nose, pelvis, scapula, and femur. According to today’s statement by the prosecutor, doctors "snatched her from the jaws of death." Both the prosecutor and the court panel thanked the medical staff for their work in this context.

The collapsed footbridge was replaced in October 2020 with a higher and wider structure that cost 150 million CZK. According to the city hall, its lifespan is at least one hundred years.