Renowned Russian actor Efremov gets eight years in prison for vehicular manslaughter

Moscow’s Presnensky district court handed actor Mikhail Efremov an eight-year jail sentence for vehicular manslaughter. A TASS correspondent reported that the actor was taken into custody in the courtroom.

"[The court] hereby declares that Efremov be taken into custody in the courtroom, and that a sentence of eight years in a general regime penal colony be imposed," the judge announced. The court deemed that Efremov could only be reformed by being isolated from society. The court also suspended the actor’s driver’s license for three years and fined him 800,000 rubles (over $10,000 - TASS) in favor of the victim’s eldest son.

The actor remained emotionless as he listened to the verdict, later outstretching his arms to the court officer to be handcuffed.

However, prior to handing down the verdict, the court took into account the actor’s confession and his positive characterization, parental status, and his charitable activities. The state prosecutor sought an 11-year sentence against the actor. Efremov himself thought the court would sentence him to eight years. The injured party and their attorneys stated that they supported the court’s decision and won’t appeal it.

On the evening of June 8, the actor was travelling in his SUV along the Garden Ring Road by Moscow’s Smolenskaya Square, when the vehicle suddenly sped into oncoming traffic and subsequently crashed head-on into a delivery van. The driver of the van, 57-year-old Sergey Zakharov, died the next morning at a local hospital. Filmed staggering out of his off-roader, the veteran actor was found to have large amounts of alcohol and traces of drugs, including cocaine in his bloodstream. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence which is punishable by 5 to 12 years in prison.