Accused leaves the country - Arrest warrant for 19-year-old after fatal speeding accident
After an alleged hit-and-run accident in Dortmund, where an 11-year-old was fatally injured, the police are searching for the driver of the car with an arrest warrant. However, the 19-year-old suspect has reportedly flown to Turkey in the meantime, according to Henner Kruse, spokesperson for the prosecutor's office. "We are now waiting to see if he returns." The suspect's lawyer stated that it was a planned several-week vacation and not a flight attempt. Several media outlets had reported on this earlier.
The prosecutor's office accuses the 19-year-old of reckless manslaughter. He is alleged to have driven through a red light at significantly excessive speed on June 29th. His vehicle struck the boy, who was crossing the street with his sister.
Investigations are also underway for an illegal street race.
A driver who drives recklessly and disregards traffic rules in order to achieve the highest possible speed can be punished more severely for "illegal street racing." The 11-year-old victim sustained life-threatening injuries in the accident and later died in the hospital. The 15-year-old sister was also thrown onto the sidewalk and sustained serious, but not life-threatening injuries.
The prosecutor's office had already applied for an arrest warrant against the suspect with German-Turkish nationality before his departure. He is alleged to have attempted to influence witnesses and should therefore have been detained preventively due to a risk of obstruction of justice. The prosecutor's office did not see a flight risk at the time. The district court initially rejected the application. However, after a successful appeal to the higher court, according to Kruse, the arrest warrant has been issued.
- The 19-year-old suspect, wanted for reckless manslaughter in the Dortmund hit-and-run accident where a child was killed, is currently residing in Turkey, as per Henner Kruse from the public prosecutor's office.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office in North Rhine-Westphalia has accused the suspect of driving through a red light at an excessive speed on June 29th, leading to a collision with two children.
- The arrest warrant for the suspect, who fled Germany after the crash, was issued by a German court despite initial rejections, following an appeal by the prosecutor's office.
- According to reports, the suspect, who allegedly attempted to influence witnesses, is a German-Turkish national with a car involved in the fatal hit-and-run accident in Dortmund.
- Polish authorities recently issued an Interpol Red Notice for the suspect, sparking a wider international effort to bring him back to Germany to face prosecution for the hit-and-run and alleged obstruction of justice.
