BURGAS, Bulgaria, Jan. 30 Bulgarian ice-dancing champion Maxim Staviiski pleaded guilty to drunk driving and received a suspended sentence Wednesday for a car crash that killed a man.
A court in Burgas, Bulgaria, suspended Staviiski's driver's license for four years and imposed a 2 ½-year prison term and five years' probation, the Sofia News Agency reported.
Staviiski apologized for the crash, which also left a woman comatose. He collided head-on with a car carrying four people in August 2007 on a bridge over the Ropotamo River near Burgas.
The Russian-born skater became a Bulgarian citizen after competing for Bulgaria. He and his partner, Albena Denkova, won the gold medal at the 2006 world championships.
The court also cut the compensation to be paid to the families of the victims.
Relatives of the man who died are to get 180,000 leva ($136,000), after seeking more than twice that amount. The father of Manuela Gorsova, who is still in a coma, is to receive 80,000 leva ($67,000), down from 2 million leva ($1.2 million) awarded by a civil court.
Copyright 2008 by UPI
