After the fatal SUV accident in Berlin, the prosecutor's office has ruled out a technical defect. "There is no evidence of a technical defect," said Martin Steltner, spokesman for the prosecutor.
On 6 September, the car of the 42-year-old driver had strayed off the road at the intersection in downtown Berlin via the oncoming lane. The SUV rammed a traffic light, drove four people on the sidewalk and broke through a construction fence. Among the four casualties was a three-year-old boy. Against the driver is now determined for negligent homicide.
According to investigators, the co-driver had spoken of an epileptic seizure right after the accident. The lawyer of the 42-year-old had pointed in a letter to the prosecutor on an "acute health emergency," Steltner said. Whether it was spasms or an epileptic seizure, he did not say.
The investigators can not approach the patient file of the driver because a so-called ban on seizure applies because of medical confidentiality. The driver could release the file, but so far he has not done so. The questioning of witnesses and the evaluation of the on-board computer continue, according to prosecutors.
Steltner said the question was whether health problems or underlying illness were predictable. Then the accident would be of criminal relevance. "If it is foreseeable that someone will get seizures, for example, he should not drive a car."
On Friday, the police searched the driver's home and secured evidence.