No one is facing justice after our lives destroyed by biker in park, says wife
A WOMAN whose husband was left in a vegetative state after a scrambler bike landed on him in a park has spoken of her horror that the rider will not face justice.
Former teacher Anzhela Kotsinian (43) and her roofer husband Ilabek Avetian (39) were sunbathing in a Dublin park last June when tragedy struck, just over a month after they moved to the capital.
The scrambler bike was driven over the brow of a hill in Darndale Park and landed on them, causing devastating injuries.
Mr Avetian has been in a vegetative state in hospital ever since and his wife, who suffered a broken pelvis, says her world has fallen apart.
“No one is answering for this, how can this happen?” said Ms Kotsinian.
There is no criminal legislation to stop scrambler bikes being driven through public parks, only local authority bye-laws.
Ms Kotsinian feels more has to be done by the State to stop the dangerous practice.
“We came to Ireland, from Lithuania, to begin a new life,” she said.
“We wanted to have a child, to buy a home in Ireland. We were discussing our plans that day.
“We decided to lie down in the park, as it was a warm, sunny day but after lying down for 10 minutes, the motorbike ran over us.
“I immediately thought of my husband. He had his head on my legs and I couldn’t hear a sound from him.
“I was in so much shock, I can’t describe it in words. I just cried and shouted, ‘Help help help.’”
In June, gardaí said a 16-yearold boy was helping them with their inquiries but almost three months later no arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, Ms Kotsinian is holding a daily vigil by her husband’s bedside.
The couple’s families are sending money to help keep her afloat, but she is anxious about how long she can afford to live in Dublin.
“We decided this country loves us, we love this country and we’ll stay here, buy a home, make a life, have children. We had a lot of plans,” she said.
“But now I’ve lost my husband and I’m losing more and more of him with each day.”
The couple had been undergoing IVF in Armenia in a bid to have a child and they’d hoped to try again in Ireland.
“We ran out of time,” Ms Kotsinian said, weeping and acknowledging the reality that it is increasingly unlikely that she will become a mother.
Doctors at Beaumont Hospital, where Mr Avetian is being treated, are now considering transferring him to Lithuania, where his father lives.
Ms Kotsinian said: “We do not have a home in Lithuania or Russia either, where I have citizenship. In Lithuania, there is nothing for us. “I want to stay in Ireland, I want my husband to stay in Ireland but it’s hard for me to stay here on my own without any support.”
A Department of Justice spokesman said it was reviewing legislation to ensure gardaí had the necessary powers at their disposal to deal with the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes.
“With regard to the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes in public parks, it should be noted many local authorities, including Dublin City Council, have bye-laws which prohibit the use of these vehicles in public parks,” he said.
Beaumont Hospital said it would not comment due to patient confidentiality.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help Ms Kotsinian at www.gofundme.com/ avetian-ilabek
The scrambler bike landed on them, causing devastating injuries. Mr Avetian has been in a vegetative state in hospital since then