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Accused in court (archive image): driving error under the influence of alcohol
Photo: Roland Weihrauch / dpa
After a devastating fire on the A40 near Mülheim/Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia, the district court in Mülheim sentenced a truck driver to one year and nine months in prison without probation.
The man was found guilty of negligent endangerment of road traffic, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson.
According to the court, the 42-year-old had left the road with a blood alcohol concentration of 1.77 per thousand because of a driving error with the truck.
The man's defense attorney announced that he would take action against the verdict.
The truck, loaded with 35,000 liters of fuel, caught fire under a railway bridge in September 2020.
A driver was injured in the accident in the Ruhr area.
Three bridges had to be demolished, there was massive disruption to rail and car traffic for almost a year and damage in the tens of millions.
Caused significant property damage
The man's defense attorney presented a confession by the defendant at the hearing.
The driver regrets what he did and has "put his life on the right track" with a six-month withdrawal treatment.
His client had changed completely, emphasized his lawyer, who therefore advocated a suspended sentence.
The prosecutor asked for two years in prison without parole.
The guilt is considerable, according to the railway and motorway administration, the damage caused is around 14 million euros.
In addition, nobody can rule out further relapses, according to the prosecutor.
bbr/dpa