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Brescia court: "This is about humility"
Photo: Antonio Calanni / dpa / AP
A German is on trial in Italy for a fatal accident on Lake Garda.
On the first day of the trial, the man from Munich asked for forgiveness.
"I'm so sorry," he said softly in Italian.
The entrepreneur is accused of having raced across Lake Garda with a friend in a motorboat on the night of June 19 and running over a small wooden boat.
In it sat Greta Nedrotti, 25, and her friend Umberto Garzarella, 37. Both were killed.
The defendant, who was driving the boat according to the investigation, and a friend drove on and later said they did not notice the accident.
Among the many relatives and friends of the two Italians who were killed, outrage prevailed in the courtroom at the fact that it took almost five months for the German to report to them personally.
"We have nothing left," said Greta Nedrotti's mother to the defendant.
Greta was her only daughter.
Umberto's father accused the man of indifference because he drove back to Germany with his buddy shortly after the accident and the first police interviews.
The German "just ran away," said Enzo Garzarella.
"This is about humility".
"We wanted to come on the first day, but we weren't allowed to," said the defendant.
His wife said with tears in her eyes that the lawyers had advised them not to contact the bereaved.
The 52-year-old is under house arrest in Italy.
He faces a prison sentence of up to five years for negligent homicide.
The also accused owner of the boat did not appear at the start of the trial.
The victims' families withdrew as co-plaintiffs on the first day.
They had agreed with the accused's insurance company on an unknown amount of compensation.
Nine days are scheduled for the hearing.
jpz / dpa
