PiS prime ministerial candidate Przemysław Czarnek unharmed after collision near Smulsko
A car carrying Poland's opposition Law and Justice (PiS) candidate for prime minister, Przemysław Czarnek, was struck by another vehicle on national road 72 near Smulsko on Sunday afternoon. The former education minister was returning from a party convention in Kalisz when a 19-year-old driver failed to yield.
What happened
At approximately 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, 14 June, a Volkswagen carrying PiS vice-chairman Przemysław Czarnek was hit by an Opel Corsa at a junction near Smulsko, in the Turek district of Greater Poland. The 19-year-old driver of the Opel pulled out from a side road without giving way, Wielkopolska police spokesman junior inspector Andrzej Borowiak told reporters. Czarnek was a passenger in the Volkswagen; he had spent the afternoon at a PiS convention in Kalisz and was travelling east towards his home in Lublin.
The Opel Corsa driven by a nineteen-year-old failed to yield and drove out of the subordinate road in front of the oncoming Volkswagen.
Two women received medical attention: a female passenger from the Opel was taken to hospital, while Czarnek's assistant, also a passenger in the Volkswagen, was treated by paramedics at the scene. Police confirmed that Czarnek and three other occupants of his car were not injured. All drivers and passengers tested negative for alcohol.
- PiS convention in Kalisz; Czarnek presents 3 of 21 'Plan Czarnka' points with party chairman Jarosław Kaczyński.
- Collision on DK72 near Smulsko: 19-year-old Opel driver fails to yield, striking the Volkswagen carrying Czarnek.
Party confirmation
PiS spokesperson Rafał Bochenek confirmed the incident on X about an hour after the collision. He stressed that Czarnek was not driving and that the fault lay entirely with the other motorist.
The incident occurred because the driver of the second car forced right of way. That driver admitted guilt and accepted a fine. Fortunately, nothing serious happened to anyone.
Bochenek added that “czarny, the candidate for prime minister, was not the driver.” However, an RMF FM reporter asked police about the fine and was told that officers had not yet confirmed whether a ticket was issued to the 19-year-old, contrary to Bochenek's claim.
Political backdrop
The collision took place just hours after Przemysław Czarnek and PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński appeared together at a convention in Kalisz, where the party unveiled three of the 21 points of what it calls “Plan Czarnka” – the programme Czarnek intends to put before voters in the 2027 parliamentary election. Czarnek, a professor of law and former minister of education and science, has been positioned as the main opposition figurehead for the next national ballot.
The vehicle carrying the candidate was reportedly heavily damaged, but the political calendar is unlikely to be affected. Party officials emphasised that Czarnek emerged from the crash unscathed and would continue his schedule.
