Investigation into fatal tram collision reopened: ‘Never believed in suicide’
Eva Christiaens © BRUZZ 17/11/2021
The Brussel’s public prosecutor’s office is reopening the file on the collision of Ella Petnichenko, the pedestrian who died on November 2 in Forest. Her death was first considered a suicide, but the family did not agree. “Ella was on her way to achieving her dreams. She wouldn’t just step out of life.”
The death of the 28-year-old Petnichenko was initially classified as a suicide by the public prosecutor’s office. On Tuesday evening, November 2, the young woman crossed the Van Volxemlaan in Forest near the Union stop, where she was hit by tram 82. She died at the scene.
According to the first investigation by the public prosecutor’s office, the woman was already on the tram tracks when the tram passed. A witness saw the victim jump under the tram as it passed her. The prosecutor’s office was informed of the incident, and the forensic laboratory attended the scene. “The investigation has established that it was a suicide,” was the conclusion. However, her family disagreed with that conclusion.
“Ella was a young, very dynamic woman. Everyone believed in her,” says her foster mother Félicienne Rogister from Liège. The Ukrainian Petnichenko came to Belgium to build an opera career. “She was rehearsing for a new opera in Germany and she was gradually getting good contracts. She was achieving her dream. No, she wouldn’t just take her own life.”
For the past two weeks, her foster family had been pressing for further investigation. The Brussels public prosecutor’s office has now confirmed that the case has been reopened. “The investigation is ongoing,” spokesperson Willemien Baert said. “The case is being taken over by our police prosecutor’s division. It is being treated as a fatal accident.”
Opera talent
Ella Petnichenko was born in Ukraine and first came to Belgium in 2017, when she took part in a benefit concert organised by the Rotary Club in Liège. The concert had been co-organised by Félicienne Rogister and her husband. “We hosted her in our home at the time, together with another musician. We had a good feeling about her. Afterwards, she asked us whether she could stay longer,” Rogister says.
At that time, Petnichenko already had a diploma as an English teacher and a master’s degree in the art of singing. She continued her studies in Liège and stayed with the Rogisters for another six months. At the time of the accident, Petnichenko was travelling between Liège, Luxembourg and Brussels. That Tuesday, she was due to spend the night at the home of one of her vocal coaches in Forest, where she had a guest room and her own key to the house.
“Ella arrived at my place at around noon that Tuesday, and she was going to leave again the following day,” says her vocal coach Olivier Roberti, who lives in Forest. “I recently had an operation and couldn’t do my own shopping. She went to the grocery shop for me at around 6:55 p.m. She still had my bank card in her pocket when the accident happened.” Because of this practical errand, Roberti also does not believe that she intended to take her own life. He adds that she was also deeply Orthodox Christian.
More witness statements
The music teacher and the foster family have now jointly hired a lawyer. They want the public prosecutor’s office to collect additional witness statements. “We know of three witnesses who did not actually see the accident happen, but who heard the impact and heard her scream,” Félicienne Rogister says. “They tell us they heard a cry of panic. That means Ella was taken by surprise when the tram hit her. But after the accident, the police questioned only the driver and a woman who was on the tram. No traffic expert came to the scene to investigate the tram’s speed either. We find that strange.”
Police also have a third statement: that of vocal coach Olivier Roberti. An official police report was drawn up containing his statement. As part of the reopened investigation, a technical analysis will also be carried out, according to the prosecutor’s office. “A traffic expert has been appointed to examine the circumstances of the accident,” spokesperson Baert says. “The location of the accident is known to be a dangerous crossing point. It is about ten metres away from an existing pedestrian crossing, and there is no lighting there when it is dark,” says Pieter Fannes of the citizens’ movement Heroes for Zero, which campaigns for zero road deaths. “About five people have reported this to us. We have the impression that the investigation carried out was insufficient. A proper investigation is important for Ella, but also to prevent something like this from happening again in the future.”
La Celestia 