Survivor rejects driver's apology
Traffic control at Leonrodplatz in Munich: a 22-year-old accelerates his car, loses control and crashes into a streetcar stop. Five people are injured, an 18-year-old dies. Many tears are shed at the start of the trial and the speeding driver's apology is barely heard.
With a confession, many tears and emotional exchanges, a trial about a fatal speeding accident has begun at the Munich district court. The 22-year-old defendant initially admitted through his lawyer that he had fatally injured an 18-year-old. Because he did not have a driver's license and was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, the defendant had tried to avoid a police check in July. He therefore accelerated his car, but lost control and skidded at high speed into a streetcar stop where the 18-year-old was waiting.
After the friend of the man who was killed, who was also seriously injured in the incident, had testified as a witness, the accused asked to speak. "I would give my life to undo this. I am so sorry for what happened," he said in tears and wished the man, who was still suffering mentally and physically from the consequences, a speedy recovery.
The 18-year-old witness then replied to him with a clear voice and clear words: "I will never forgive you for what you did. We will all never forgive you for what you did." The man killed was one of his best friends and they were on their way back from a festival that evening. "I hope you feel bad for the rest of your life," he continued. Amid audible sobs from the audience, the young man continued: "We both know it's all your fault that it happened, that you could have prevented it. We both know you're a coward."
"I know that it was very cowardly, and I know that I would have most deserved to die that day," replied the defendant, who comes from Sinsheim in Baden-Württemberg. He had been afraid of the police check because his driver's license had already been revoked.
Traumatic experience for the police officers
The 22-year-old also apologized to the policewoman who had pursued him with a colleague at the time. "I alone am to blame for what happened. (...) You did a good job." Despite his many years of service, the policewoman's colleague kept crying during his testimony.
"I thought to myself, shit, this isn't going to end well," the officer recounted of the seconds before the man in pursuit sped onto a junction at a red light, collided with a crossing car, overturned and spun into passers-by. The officers were the first at the wreckage: "You just get the feeling that you don't have enough arms to help everyone." When he saw the 18-year-old who had been killed, he knew that any help would come too late.
Large crowd in the courtroom
The trial had started very late: Due to the large crowd, the trial was spontaneously moved to a larger courtroom. Around one hundred people, including many young people, followed the arraignment. The public prosecutor's office accused the defendant of, among other things, involuntary manslaughter and involuntary bodily harm as well as an illegal motor vehicle race - he had raced through the city center at up to 144 km/h.
A total of five people were injured in the accident at Leonrodplatz in Munich. The verdict is expected next Thursday.
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In relation to the high-speed crash in Munich, the public prosecutor's office has accused the defendant of international criminality, specifically involving an illegal motor vehicle race and involuntary manslaughter.
Despite the apologies from the defendant, the impact of the traffic accident has extended beyond Munich, as the case of international criminality involving traffic accidents highlights the global scope of such incidents.
Source: www.ntv.de
