A man at the wheel of a 455 hp car speeds through Berlin at around 80 kilometers per hour. When a pedestrian tries to cross the lane, the car kills him. Now the judgment falls.
Berlin – He was annoyed and drove way too fast: After the death of a 26-year-old pedestrian in Berlin, a driver was sentenced to six months’ probation. The mother of the victim, the former Bavarian local politician Stephanie Countess Bruges-von Pfuel, described the judgment on Wednesday as appropriate.
According to the verdict, the 25-year-old defendant should also do 100 hours of community service. He was guilty of negligent homicide, the Tiergarten district court justified the judgment. “Driving too fast was the cause of the death of the pedestrian,” said the presiding judge. In March 2019, the defendant was traveling at up to 82 kilometers per hour on Chausseestrasse in Berlin-Mitte and caught the pedestrian as he tried to cross the lane, the verdict said.
The 25-year-old was annoyed and pressed the gas pedal, the judge said. “Such emotions have nothing to do with road traffic.” The accident could have been avoided if the maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour had been adhered to.
The passer-by was thrown against the windshield and then into the oncoming traffic. He succumbed to serious injuries a week later. The defendant, who receives social benefits, was at the wheel of a 455 hp car. A friend lent him the car, he explained to his defense attorney at the beginning of the trial. He was “not a passionate speeder, but a person who drove too fast,” said the defendant. He was “stressed” that day, he said shortly before the verdict.
I’m very sorry for what happened. He is in therapy and keeps wondering how the accident could have happened.
The victim’s mother, who took part in the trial as a joint plaintiff, spoke in a tear-choked voice during the pleading. You could now “at least get a legal conclusion”, said the mother, who was there with one of her daughters. The defendant stated that he was not a speeder and only drove a little too fast – “that does not apply to March 20, 2019”.
The mother of the victims said there was no wrongdoing by her son. The co-prosecutor’s attorney said that the defendant “indicated a lot of an ingrained pattern”.
The public prosecutor’s office had pleaded for eight months’ probation. “The irresponsible and far too fast driving alone led to the dramatic event,” said the prosecutor. There is no so-called instantaneous failure. When determining the amount of the sentence, it should be taken into account that the defendant made “a kind of confession”. The secondary suit did not make a specific motion. The defense attorney advocated a fine. The verdict is not yet legally binding. dpa