Public prosecutor's office - Worker killed while disposing of waste: trial against men
Almost ten months after a fatal accident involving a garbage truck in the district of Höxter, two people have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The Paderborn public prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday that it had brought charges against the 52-year-old driver of the refuse truck and the owner of the vehicle (53) before the district court in Höxter. The main trial is scheduled to begin on April 3, 2024. At the beginning of March 2023, a 49-year-old employee of a waste disposal company in Beverungen was trapped between the vehicle and a tree and fatally injured.
According to the indictment, the 49-year-old had noticed at the time that a garbage can had not been emptied, had pressed the bell at the back of the vehicle and stood on the step, which was also at the back. The driver engaged reverse gear but did not check where his colleague was at that moment. He had also left the road "due to slight carelessness" and collided with a tree. The 49-year-old was trapped and died at the scene of the accident.
According to the indictment, the accident could only have happened because the vehicle had been tampered with - with the knowledge or acquiescence of the owner. The 53-year-old was therefore also charged. If a person is standing on the step, reversing a garbage truck is generally prevented by a so-called reversing lock. "However, this lock was manually overridden by a chain that had been attached to the rear steps," reported the public prosecutor's office. The owner is also alleged to have failed to carry out the annual accident prevention inspection.
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
- The alleged negligence leading to the accident has sparked ongoing criminality investigations in North Rhine-Westphalia.
- The accused driver and vehicle owner are set to face trial at the Local Court in Höxter, in a process that begins on April 3, 2024.
- Despite the fatal accident in Paderborn, the waste disposal company in Beverungen continues its operations, employing numerous men.
- In the indictment, it was stated that the reversing lock on the garbage truck was manually overridden, possibly with the owner's consent.
- The accident, which took place over a year ago, caused significant inconvenience to local residents formerly relying on the garbage disposal services in the area.
- As a result of the accident, the public prosecutor's office has begun an investigation into potential vehicle maintenance violations in the North Rhine-Westphalia region.
- The charges bring to light the significance of regular safety inspections and adherence to safety protocols among garbage truck operators and vehicle owners.
Source: www.stern.de
