Court convicts ex-mayor, ad exec over 2009 billboard death
An Athens court on Wednesday convicted a former mayor and an advertising agent of involuntary manslaughter over the death of a 21-year-old motorist who slammed into the base of an illegal billboard on Kifissias Avenue, north of Athens, in 2009.
“That billboard was there for years. The municipality ignored warnings from everyone… because the revenues from the illegal signs were big,” said Apostolos Molyviatis’s sister, Nora, who filed the action against the ex-mayor of Halandri, Grigoris Zafeiropoulos – who leased out the space – and a representative of the firm that put up the billboard.
Experts had ruled that if the billboard had not been placed on the traffic island, Molyviatis would have probably survived the crash, as he was driving at a moderate speed and wearing a seatbelt when he swerved to avoid another vehicle.
