crime
Murder trial after alleged car race
The Justice Center Aachen with the local and regional court. Photo: Marius Becker/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
According to the indictment, the fatal collision was preceded by an illegal car race in the Eifel. Two drivers are on trial – a 20-year-old for murder.
Short black hair, glasses, a high-buttoned white shirt, jeans: an inconspicuous young man takes a seat in the dock of the district court in Aachen. The 20-year-old is accused of murder.
He is said to have driven an illegal car race with a friend on a winding road in the Eifel. A fatal crash occurred while overtaking. An eight-year-old girl died in the oncoming car, the driver and passenger survived.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder. He is said to have participated in the race in the second car. According to the prosecutor, both defendants put a “short-term adrenaline rush” above other life.
The accident on August 3, 2020 occurred during the summer holidays, when correspondingly more traffic had to be expected on the road in the Eifel excursion destination. The two young men were driving much too fast on the country road. Murder characteristics are malice and base motives, according to the indictment.
The accused is crying
After a good hour, the 20-year-old takes the floor. “I sincerely apologize,” he says. He was driving the car that caused the collision. He could only say that he was incredibly sorry for what happened. Then he bursts into tears, his voice drops.
The defense counsel continues to read out the prepared statement. In it, the young man asserts that he did not deliberately provoke the accident. This notion is absurd. He himself was seriously injured and may have permanent consequential damage.
The lawyers accused the public prosecutor’s office of having made a hasty determination in the investigation. From the appearance of the car you have closed a race, said a defender. Then it was determined in the direction of this “working hypothesis”. The relatives of the killed girl are police officers. He fears that this plays a role and that people are taking sides, consciously or unconsciously.
The 19-year-old driver at the time of the crime was temporarily in custody and is now free. The now 21-year-old second accused initially did not comment.
A police officer who was at the scene of the accident reported that the unharmed man was very nervous and was constantly tapping his cell phone. He said that before the trip he and his friend stood parallel on the street and had telephone contact. The first suspicion was cell phone use as the cause of the accident, the official said.
But a driver reported risky overtaking maneuvers – and that the cars were driving close together. Looking at the course of the road near Simmerath, the official said: “It’s a bit reminiscent of the Nürburgring.” The process is designed for twelve days of negotiations.