Bus accident - Seven Dead: Murder Charge against Alleged Trafficker
Seven-fold Murder, the Prosecutor's Office Traunstein accuses the driver of a smuggling vehicle in Oberbayern of this crime. The authority claims to have filed charges against the suspect. The 25-year-old is said to have driven a minibus with 22 migrants from Austria to Bavaria in October 2023. During his escape from the police, the driver lost control of the vehicle on the A94 motorway near Ampfing (Mühldorf am Inn), causing it to overturn. Seven passengers died.
The Prosecution Office assumes that the 25-year-old was accompanied by three so-called "Scout Drivers." The three Men, who were 17, 22, and 23 years old at the time, are suspected of organizing the smuggling with the driver and scouting out the route based on police checkpoints. The driver is said to have received 300 Euros per smuggled person according to the investigation.
Fled at 180 km/h from Police
On the day of the incident, the Scouts are said to have lured the driver from the Simbach border crossing to the Burghausen border crossing. When civilian police officers discovered the driver, he reportedly gave gas and accelerated his vehicle up to 180 hours-kilometers after speaking with the Scouts. The vehicle overturned in the Autobahnausfahrt Waldkraiburg/Ampfing.
Seven people died, including a six-year-old child. One passenger is reportedly still in critical condition according to the Prosecutor's Office. 14 other passengers were seriously injured. The driver sustained an arm fracture.
Three more smuggling trips accused
The Prosecutor's Office also accuses the suspect of having undertaken three more smuggling trips in September 2023, during which he transported a total of 46 people under life-threatening conditions to Bavaria.
Besides murder, the indictment also includes charges of commercial and dangerous human smuggling, as well as a prohibited car race resulting in death. The Higher Regional Court at the Traunstein District Court must now decide whether there will be a trial against the 25-year-old.
The Prosecutor's Office Traunstein filed charges against the three alleged organizers on Tuesday. Unlike the driver, the Prosecutor's Office does not see a murder intent in the Scouts and accuses them of human smuggling resulting in death.
Authorities registering more cases
According to reports, there are increasingly frequent cases where 15 to 25 people are smuggled unsecured in small transport vehicles. "The perpetrators are becoming more disrespectful and reckless," said Prosecutor Markus Andra. Escapes from police checks with dangerous driving maneuvers or ramming police cars or driving towards police officers are becoming more common.
- The accident on the A94 motorway near Ampfing resulted in a tragic loss of seven lives, including a six-year-old child.
- The suspect, a 25-year-old driver, allegedly received 300 Euros per smuggled person, according to the investigation.
- The Prosecutor's Office in Bayern is handling the murder indictment against the driver and three 'Scout Drivers'.
- During his escape from Austrian traffic police, the driver lost control of the minibus, causing it to overturn on the A94.
- The Scouts, who were aged 17, 22, and 23 at the time, are suspected of organizing the smuggling and scouting out the route.
- The suspect is accused of undertaking three more smuggling trips in September 2023, transporting 46 people under life-threatening conditions to Germany.
- The Scouts are accused of human smuggling resulting in death, not of murder intent by the Prosecutor's Office.
- Increasingly frequent cases of 15 to 25 people being smuggled unsecured in small transport vehicles are being reported by authorities.
- Dangerous driving maneuvers, such as escapes from police checks or ramming police cars, are becoming more common, according to Prosecutor Markus Andra.
- The Higher Regional Court at the Traunstein District Court will decide whether there will be a trial against the 25-year-old suspect.
