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Location of the collision: accident or murder?
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In a car race, he raced through a residential area - his 600 hp car hit the small car of a woman, who died at the age of 43.
But is the death driver from Moers a murderer?
The Federal Court of Justice also partially overturned the second judgment against the man due to contradictions in the reasoning - and referred the matter to the Duisburg district court for a new hearing.
After the fatal speeding accident west of Duisburg, negotiations are now being held against the driver primarily responsible for the third time.
With their verdict, the judges of the fourth criminal senate in Karlsruhe appealed against a previous judgment of the district court of Kleve from June 2021.
In the collision in April 2019, an uninvolved woman came out of a side street with her small car and the man could no longer brake.
His car, which was now more than 160 things faster, was still driving at more than 100 km/h at the time of the accident. According to the court, the woman died of brain damage as a result of the impact.
The accused had fled the scene of the collision and had not taken care of the woman.
Killing intention verifiable?
The Senate accused the district court of Kleve of having justified its second judgment in a contradictory way.
On the one hand, it had affirmed a "danger intention": The man had recognized the high level of danger of his driving behavior and also expected a collision with turning cars.
At the same time, the regional court denied the intent to kill, pointing out that the speeder might have hoped that there would be no accident.
After the Karlsruhe verdict, the district court in Duisburg must now resolve this objection and decide again on the penalty.
The district court in Kleve had recently sentenced the accused to four years in prison for illegal motor vehicle racing resulting in death and imposed a driver's license ban.
It came to the conclusion that the man was aware of the danger of what he was doing.
An intention to kill, which is a prerequisite for a conviction for murder, is not proven.
The man may have trusted that there would be no accident.
Prosecutors and the victim's family want the man convicted of murder and have appealed.
The man had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
After an appeal by the accused, the Federal Court of Justice overturned this judgment from 2020 and referred the matter back to the Kleve District Court for a new hearing and decision.
File numbers: 4 StR 211/22, 150 Ks - 507, Js 281/19 - 1/21
Apr/dpa/AFP
