Frankfurt district court
“Solely responsible for suffering” – murder trial against speeders
In a fatal collision in November 2020, the SUV hit several people, two died and a young woman was seriously injured. Now the trial against the driver begins. Photo: Silas Stein/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
In a curve, the driver loses control at high speeds. Two people die and a young woman is seriously injured. A court is now investigating whether the driver was guilty of murder.
A bicycle courier and two passers-by don’t stand a chance when the powerful car races towards them.
Only the 31-year-old woman survived the accident in November 2020 in Frankfurt with serious injuries, but her 61-year-old father and the 27-year-old bicycle courier could no longer be helped. The driver involved in the accident is now charged with murder and a prohibited car race, among other things. At the beginning of the trial on Tuesday before the Frankfurt district court, he made a confession. “I know that I alone am responsible for the suffering of the two families,” said the gaunt 40-year-old.
The German national admitted in court that he had been traveling at significantly excessive speed on a thoroughfare in Frankfurt’s Ostend near the European Central Bank. According to the investigation, he lost control of the 625 hp vehicle in a curve at 82 km/h, which then hit the cyclist and the two passers-by on the sidewalk. The driver is said to have almost floored the gas pedal and previously accelerated sharply at several traffic lights.
The charge is based on public danger
The public prosecutor accuses him of double murder, dangerous bodily harm and a forbidden car race. The indictment is based on the murder characteristic of public danger. The driver was arrested several months after the accident when suspicion of murder arose.
According to the results of the investigation, the accused had switched off a technical safety system before starting the journey in the company car, which is a sports all-terrain vehicle (SUV), in order to be able to drive faster. However, this was only done to be able to hear the “sound of the engine” better, but not to intentionally endanger other road users, said the 40-year-old, who according to his own statements as a “car enthusiast values high-horsepower vehicles with the corresponding sound of the exhaust system».
At the time of the accident, the driver was not under the influence of alcohol – nevertheless, he reported to the court about alcohol problems, which had significantly increased since the incident. “A bottle of gin with tablets every day” he takes. In addition, the imprisoned man is in psychological care, as he emphasized in his comprehensive statement with regard to the lawyers of the joint plaintiffs.
Repeatedly noticed negatively in traffic
The stay in the detention center is not the first: until 2018, the 40-year-old was in a prison before. He had been convicted in criminal proceedings of undeclared work and tax fraud in connection with the establishment of numerous construction companies.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, he is said to have repeatedly attracted negative attention on the road. He had to undergo a medical-psychological test several times. The accused, who wiped tears from his face during his testimony, said he was always able to keep his vehicle under control, even when accelerating sharply and at high speeds – “but then it got out of control in the accident”.
The jury began hearing witnesses on the first day of the trial. Ten more dates are planned until the end of May. If convicted of murder, the sentence is life imprisonment.