On April 15, 2003, around 9:40 am, a government-issued Mitsubishi Pajero SUV with rotating lights turned on—driven by Stevan Bakalov with the Serbian Minister of Agriculture Veselinov and his bodyguard in the back seat—heading down Beogradska Street towards Slavija Square in downtown Belgrade struck a white Mercedes 190 taxi at the intersection with Njegoševa Street, then lost control and ended up on the sidewalk where three pedestrians were waiting to cross the street.

[4] The court process started with the district public prosecutor's office issuing an indictment against Bakalov in late May 2004, more than a year after the event.

[5] Eventually, on March 2, 2006, Veselinov's driver Bakalov received a five-year prison sentence for "causing the traffic accident".

[6] The judicial council presided over by judge Branka Pejović found Bakalov guilty of driving at higher than allowed speed and running a red light.

[8] On March 3, 2009—almost six years after the event and three years after the initial sentencing of Bakalov—as part of the legal process following a request by the victim Katarina Marić's family, Veselinov was questioned on suspicion that he had provided false testimony during the trial, supposedly lying about the car going through the Beogradska-Njegoševa intersection on a green light.