Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated he bears no responsibility for the fatal hit-and-run of a pregnant woman, emphasizing that the vehicle involved was not part of his personal convoy but a designated “prime ministerial bus” provided for official use.
Responding to questions about why no one has been held accountable following the fatal incident, Pashinyan said, according to Panorama.am : “It’s not my convoy, it’s the prime minister of Armenia’s ‘bus.’ It’s the security structure protecting the prime minister. That’s the public transport assigned to me. There are protocols for such movement—what does it have to do with me at all?”
He added: “Had I been behind the wheel of one of those cars… maybe then I’d understand the connection. But I was sitting in the car that serves me, and three cars ahead a very tragic incident occurred. It’s like sitting in the last metro car while the front one hits a person—what connection do you have to that?”
The incident took place on April 26, 2022, at around 18:05 at the Paronyan-Leo streets intersection, where the commander of the Road Police escort unit of the Armenian Police, driving a Toyota Prado, struck a 28-year-old woman from the Ararat region. The victim sustained severe injuries and was taken to Nairi Medical Center, where she died without regaining consciousness. The woman, Sona Mnatsakanyan, was pregnant. The convoy was escorting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the time.
