Eesti Polevkivi head dies in car accident

  • 2006-07-25
  • By TBT staff
Mati Jostov, the CEO of Eesti Polevkivi (Estonian Oil Shale) died in a car accident in the early hours of July 25 on the Johvi-Tartu road.

Jostov, 47, was driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle, when he suddenly veered off the road, where he was thrown out of his car and died on the spot, according to a spokesperson for Jogeva County police.

The spokesperson said the police believe Jostov either fell asleep behind the wheel or had a health problem which prevented him from properly handling the vehicle.

"There was no other traffic on the road at the time of the accident which could have disturbed the driver and caused the car to veer off," the spokesperson said. "Nor is there evidence that he collided with an animal."

His seat belt was not fastened and he was in the car alone. A spokesman for the company told BNS that Jostov had finished a one-month vacation and was on his way back to work.

Jostov was a forestry graduate from the Estonian Academy of Agriculture. Before becoming CEO of Eesti Polevkivi in 1999, he had worked at several banks and at the national power company Eesti Energia.

A one-time politician, Jostov joined the Center Party in 2002, ran for parliament in 2003 but gave up a seat he had won. He quit the party in fall 2003. Jostov is survived by a wife and three children.