Polish father charged after striking second son on same Boćki property three years after fatal accident
A 47-year-old father in Boćki faces up to five years in prison after striking his four-year-old son with a vehicle trailer, three years after fatally running over his infant son on the same yard.
The incident in Boćki
On Sunday morning, 16 August 2026, around 9:00 AM, police and emergency services received a report of an accident on a private property in the village of Boćki, Podlaskie Voivodeship. A 47-year-old man was performing work on the premises and maneuvering an off-road vehicle with an attached light trailer. While reversing or moving the vehicle, the trailer struck his four-year-old son. The father immediately summoned emergency assistance to the scene. An air ambulance helicopter was dispatched to transport the injured child to the Children's Clinical Hospital in Białystok.
Medical condition and hospital assessment
At the Medical University of Białystok Pediatric Surgery and Urology Clinic, doctors examined the child and diagnosed him with pulmonary contusions. The boy's injuries were determined not to be life-threatening, and medical staff confirmed that he remained stable without requiring surgical intervention. Physicians indicated that the boy could be discharged to return home within approximately one week.
The child remains under the care of our clinic. For now, he is being treated for pulmonary contusions. I think he will not require surgical intervention.
Legal charges and prosecution response
Following the incident, police detained the 47-year-old father, who stated to officers that he believed his son was inside the house getting water prior to the maneuver. Adam Naumczuk, head of the District Prosecutor's Office in Bielsk Podlaskim, announced on Monday, 17 August 2026, that the man faced formal charges for exposing a child under his care to direct danger of loss of life or grievous bodily harm. The suspect admitted guilt but declined to give formal explanations during questioning. He faces a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison, while police plan to notify the family court to assess household custody and care conditions.
- A 10-month-old infant is fatally struck by an off-road vehicle on the family property in Boćki.
- The child's grandfather dies before final appeal, leading to dismissed charges against him.
- An appellate court reduces the father's eight-month prison sentence to a 2,000 PLN fine.
- The father strikes his four-year-old son with an attached trailer on the same yard.
- Prosecutors charge the father with exposing the child to direct danger of severe harm or death.
Prior court proceedings from August 2023
The case drew immediate attention from law enforcement because a similar tragedy occurred on the exact same property almost three years earlier. On 26 August 2023, the same man fatally struck his 10-month-old infant son while maneuvering the identical off-road vehicle. The crawling infant had slipped out of the family home unnoticed while the child's mother and grandfather were inside.
Since working here, I have encountered something like this for the first time. That incident took place three years ago on 26 August, and this one on 16 August. It was the same off-road vehicle. Except that now the child was run over by an attached light trailer, whereas back then directly by the car itself.
Following that 2023 fatality, a district court originally sentenced the father to an eight-month prison term for involuntary manslaughter. In October 2025, an appellate court applied extraordinary mitigation of punishment and replaced the custodial sentence with a 2,000 PLN fine, citing the traumatic nature of losing a child. The child's grandfather, who was also sentenced to eight months in the first-instance trial for fabricating evidence and obstructing the probe, passed away in early 2025, leading the appellate court to dismiss proceedings against him.
