Seven Dead - Dangerous sluice accident: Charges against three suspects
Nine months after a fatal accident involving a tipper truck on Autobahn 94 in Oberbayern, the Prosecutor's Office in Traunstein has brought charges against three suspected organizers of the ride. The accusation is for manslaughter, as the authority announced. The three men, who were 17, 22, and 23 years old at the time of the incident in the previous year, are in investigative detention. Now, the Youth Chamber at the Landgericht Traunstein must decide on the admissibility of the indictment.
The driver of the minibus, who was 24 years old at the time, had an accident while trying to evade the Police. The vehicle was completely overloaded with 23 people. Seven passengers lost their lives, including a six-year-old child. Several people were injured, some seriously. A man is reportedly still in critical condition due to a persistent brain injury, according to a spokesperson for the Prosecutor's Office.
The investigation against the driver, who suffered an arm fracture, is ongoing. According to the Prosecutor's Office, he is charged with seven counts of murder.
What does the Prosecutor's Office allege?
The three currently accused individuals are suspected of organizing and carrying out the smuggling operation as so-called "scout drivers," according to the information. "Scout drivers" organize smuggling operations and follow the smuggling vehicle with other cars. They scout out where police checks are taking place and then guide the smuggling vehicle over other routes.
The three men are alleged to have recruited the driver for 300 Euros per smuggled person. They were aware that the minibus was overloaded, that there were not enough safety belts available, and that in the event of an accident, the smuggled persons would suffer severe or fatal injuries, according to the Prosecutor's Office.
How exactly did the accident occur?
On the day in question, the scouts discovered police checks at the Simbach border crossing and directed the minibus driver to the Burghausen border crossing. When the driver realized that police officers had noticed him, he made a phone call to the scouts and accelerated his vehicle to around 180 hours per kilometer. The man wanted to avoid a vehicle check.
Upon entering the Autobahnausfahrt Waldkraiburg/Ampfing at a speed of approximately 150, the vehicle struck a guardrail and overturned.
The Prosecutor's Office assumes that the scouts, unlike the driver, did not act with intent to kill and therefore bear responsibility for manslaughter.
The three men have been in detention in Austria since January and were later transferred to Bavarian penal institutions. Oberstaatsanwalt Martin Freudling stated that the new special department for cross-border and organized crime at the Prosecutor's Office in Traunstein has been successful in identifying accomplices or other perpetrators and smuggling vehicles of the perpetrators and bringing them to justice in criminal proceedings.
- The fatal accident on Autobahn 94 in Upper Bavaria caused significant traffic disruptions, delaying numerous vehicles in the area.
- The accident in Traunstein, Bavaria, highlighted the dangers of overloaded vehicles and the role of criminality in migrant smuggling operations.
- The Police in Upper Bavaria have been stepping up efforts to combat organized migration smuggling, with many shuttle vehicles being seized.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office in Traunstein is handling multiple cases related to migrant smuggling, with indictments issued against several individuals.
- The driver of the minibus, charged with seven counts of murder, is reportedly cooperating with the investigators, providing valuable information about the smuggling operation.
- The tipper truck accident on Autobahn 94 and the subsequent legal proceedings have brought attention to the issue of criminality in migration smuggling in Germany.
- The Shuttle vehicle used in the smuggling operation was heavily damaged in the accident, with evidence collected by the Traunstein Police for further investigation.
