On October 18, two-and-a-half months after he caused a deadly road accident, two-time world ice-dancing champion Maxim Staviiski  faced the media. Russian-born Staviiski and his partner Albena Denkova gave a news conference in Sofia on the issue.

On August 5, Staviiski’s Hummer hit two vehicles, resulting in one person dead and several others injured. Staviiski came out unharmed; his blood test showed positive for alcohol. He had been driving the vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 1.29 mg/ml. At present, the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.5 mg/ml. The reason for his high blood alcohol level, according to Staviiski, was an strict food diet. He said that hours before the accident, he had had two or three sips of homemade rakiya and nothing else. The strict diet, Staviiski said, was why the small quantity of alcohol tested so high.

This was Staviiski’s first public comment on what had happened the night of August 5 on a road at the Black Sea coast.

“I kept silent until now because of the investigation that has been going on, but it was not easy for me. I want to make my confession now. I am not looking for an excuse, but for understanding and probably advice. As for the question of what sentence I would have desired if I were in the position of Petar’s family (the young man who died in the crash), I cannot answer. And what would have happened if someone close to you was in my place, I also don’t know. What we have been through, Albena and I, is something terrible. Bulgaria has given us so much that now I realise how happy we were before. I feel like I have fallen to the bottom,” he said.

“The fact that so many innocent people got hurt makes this tragedy so terrible. Until yesterday I was a hero, an example to many people, and today I am a criminal. I feel awful that I could not save Petar. I am sorry that Manuela (currently in a comma) is in such a terrible condition. I feel totally helpless. After the incident, I could not sleep or think about anything else but Manuela was doing. After I saw that people close to me were starting to seriously worry about me, I decided that I had to pull myself together. And if someone can guarantee to me that the war on the roads will end, then I am ready to face the severest punishment. I have said many times that I love Bulgaria and wanted to tie my future completely to it.”

Staviiski and Denkova answered questions from various media on  October 18.

Can you say that the Prosecutor-General’s Office extends a special attitude towards you?
I am trying not to comment on the actions of the authorities in this matter, because I have no experience in these things. I have the feeling that first came the accusation and then came the investigation. For me this is not right.

What was the speed of your vehicle at the time of the accident?
I have always said that I like extreme emotions and I always drive extremely fast, but at the same time, I have always taken into account the situation on the road and the other vehicles. I cannot say for sure what my speed was at the time. I do not have a clear memory of crossing the dividing line of the road.

Is the end of your sport career?
Immediately after the incident, I cancelled all my engagements in various programmes. At that moment, I could not think of continuing with my career. I received many calls from friends who advised me not to give up.

What conclusions have you drawn from what has happened?
I became an example to all Bulgaria; I am a bad example. I was among the faces of the public campaign against driving under the influence of alcohol. What irony! I became the best face such a campaign could have. Everybody saw what could happen when you don’t follow basic rules. I heard many negative comments and statements and I cannot blame anyone for that. I deserved it all.

Have you spoken to Petar’s relatives?
On the night of the accident, I went to the hospital in Bourgas. At that moment, I knew that Petar had already died. At the hospital there was no one there – neither police officers nor journalists. Then I asked a doctor where I could find the injured person and she gave me specific information. Her advice, however, was to not visit them because of the condition I was in at the time. The next morning, I called Petar’s parents.

I did not see Manuela’s parents personally. They asked me to bring their child back to them and I promised to do whatever I could do to save her. Albena was in Sofia at the time and we started taking action together on this. Doctor Matev from the Bourgas hospital said that it was better for Manuela to be moved to Sofia. Here I want to thank the Military Hospital in Sofia for agreeing to admit Manuela. After this I never contacted the relatives of the people harmed in the incident because in this situation everything I could say would have been easily misinterpreted.

I am really sorry, and I do not see how I can express this feeling – it is almost impossible. I did not want to look people in the eye and this is why I do not go to the hospital often. However I call Manuela’s doctor every day and he has a standing offer of my help. He said that this was not the hospital’s policy. Later I will find a way to thank the medics because I have not forgotten what they did.

There were rumours that the law would be changed specially for your case, particularly the threshold at which driving under the influence of alcohol becomes a criminal offence.

This amendment has nothing to do with me. From the beginning I did not want any speculations to be made with my case. I caused an road accident and I am guilty. That is why it does not matter what the threshold will be.

Do you feel like a scapegoat?
There is no way that I can feel like a victim in this situation.

Do you expect the court to be harder on you?
I don’t know. At the moment they are hard enough.

"We don’t know what to expect from now on. I am a victim in the same way Maxim is. We were even ashamed to show ourselves on the balcony. There is a reason for every negative attitude towards us but we never expected such a reaction. We are not blaming anyone and we are ready to take any punishment. We have no future now; we live only in the present. As you have seen, plans are one thing and reality is completely different. What has happened has shown us who the people are on whom we could count – family and close friends. All the others have simply evaporated."