Because of a fatal accident in the parking lot of a large furniture store, a suspected speeder has to answer to the district court of Augsburg from October. The 54-year-old is said to have lost control of his high-powered car during an illegal car race, thrown through the fence of the furniture store and crashed into a shopping trolley stand. A 21-year-old passenger died in the accident car, and according to the public prosecutor’s office, two customers were just able to get to safety in front of the approaching vehicle.
As district court spokesman Peter Grünes reported on Thursday, the criminal court opened the proceedings and set a total of eight days of negotiations from October 11th. The verdict could therefore be given in mid-November. After the fatal accident on August 26, 2022, the driver initially remained at large. But the district court issued an arrest warrant immediately after the indictment because of the risk of absconding, and the man has been in custody since May. He faces up to ten years in prison for a banned motor vehicle race resulting in death.
According to the investigation, the man with his vehicle was initially at a popular meeting place for the Augsburg car tuner scene. From there he is said to have started with three passengers and to have given full throttle to demonstrate the acceleration of his heavy off-road vehicle. In a left turn, the driver is said to have lost control of his car after just a few hundred meters and to have broken through the fence. The investigators assume that the man was up to 145 kilometers per hour fast – 50 km/h is allowed there. The man is said to have thrown across the furniture store parking lot at 67 to 94 kilometers per hour before the car reached the shopping cart collection box came to a halt. The 21-year-old suffered fatal head injuries and the other two passengers were injured.
The case caused a lot of discussion in the Augsburg region. The relatives of the woman who died erected a memorial on the car park fence, which was then repaired, and grave lights were still regularly turned off there months later. After the accident, it became known that the accused had previously crashed with a passenger in the car at almost 200 kilometers per hour. This ride, which did not result in an accident, has also been charged as a prohibited race.