After just two days of negotiations, the pleas and verdict in the trial surrounding the fatal Schäftlarn S-Bahn accident are expected at the Munich District Court this Thursday. A 56-year-old train driver is accused. According to the investigation, he had disobeyed a red signal and regulations on February 14, 2022. His train subsequently collided with an oncoming S-Bahn.
The man stated in the proceedings that he could not remember the accident. He doesn’t know why he behaved like that. At the same time he took the blame. He said at the start of the trial in February that he could hardly believe he had made such mistakes. It was inexplicable to him how this could have happened. He was so sorry for everything, the man repeated several times as he kept fighting back tears. If he could, he would undo everything.
A 24-year-old man was killed in the collision between the two S-Bahn trains on Valentine’s Day around 4:35 p.m. – in the middle of rush hour traffic. Dozens of people were injured, some seriously, including the accused train driver and his colleague from the oncoming S-Bahn. It survived almost miraculously, the driver’s cab was completely destroyed. Some of the railcars were lifted off the tracks in the collision and the damage amounted to seven million euros.
The accused train driver now has a new job
The public prosecutor’s office accuses the defendant of negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm in 51 cases as well as intentionally endangering rail traffic. Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Nevertheless, the public prosecutor’s office has brought charges to a jury of one judge and two lay judges. A prison sentence of up to four years can be imposed. Conversely, this means that the prosecution did not expect a higher sentence at the time.
The defendant – a trained turner – had only taken the train driver test nine months before the accident. This was a childhood dream come true, the man said. Even as a small boy he wanted to become a train driver. He has been delivering mail since January.
Two years after the fatal S-Bahn accident, the railcar driver has to answer before the Munich district court.
(Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa)
According to the prosecution, the man was driving train number 6785 on the day of the accident and initially ignored emergency braking in front of the Schäftlarn-Ebenhausen train station because the speed was too high. After the passengers got in and out, he is said to have driven off despite a red stop signal – and then also to have overridden the subsequent automatic emergency braking.
At the same time, the delayed S-Bahn train number 6776 from Munich arrived on the single-track route. Their train driver also received a red light and initiated emergency braking. His train came to a stop after additional emergency braking. While the young train driver was still on the phone with the dispatcher to ask why, the other S-Bahn was already approaching. The accused train driver initiated rapid braking, but that was no longer enough. The locomotives crashed into each other.
The defendant’s former superiors at the railway gave him generally good references in court. He was therefore considered inconspicuous, accurate and dutiful.