Motorist is guilty of negligent homicide

Created: 01/27/2022, 18:46

By: Thomas Zimmerly

Large contingent of rescuers: A motorcyclist died in this accident in May 2021 on the A 8 near Wiedenzhausen.

© cst

A 50-year-old motorist is found guilty of negligently manslaughtering a 53-year-old motorcyclist.

The tragedy happened on the A 8 last May.

The main hearing before the district court of Dachau took place yesterday.

It became clear: The death driver is a broken man.

Dachau/Wiedenzhausen – On May 20 last year, there was heavy morning commuter traffic on the A 8 in the direction of Munich.

Around 6.40 a.m., the vehicles were backed up between the Odelzhausen and Sulzemoos junctions.

A 50-year-old commuter from Dasing tried to stop his BMW near Wiedenzhausen because of the traffic jam in front of him.

Realizing he was going to rear-end, he moved from the left lane to the middle one.

The BMW collided with a VW Passat, with a motorcycle and then with an Opel and a VW Golf.

According to witnesses and traffic reports, the motorcycle on which a 53-year-old was sitting in the Fürstenfeldbruck district was also on the middle lane.

The motorcycle, a BMW, was pushed to the right.

Machine and driver crashed into the crash barrier shortly afterwards.

The 53-year-old suffered polytrauma,

The person who caused the accident had to answer to the district court of Dachau yesterday for negligent homicide.

He had received a penalty order, in which a fine of 150 daily rates of 130 euros and a three-month driving ban are stipulated.

The 50-year-old had appealed against this.

At the beginning of the main hearing, his defense attorney Florian Timm formulated the aim of the objection as follows: "In the case of a killing in traffic, it must be very clear: who did what wrong." According to the traffic report, the Dasinger's BMW was originally on the road with 110 things.

In the collision with the Passat, it was still 85 to 95 km/h, in the collision with the motorcycle 65 to 71. What "annoyed" the lawyer: The report also stated that the accident would have been unavoidable even at a lower speed .

And: The motorcycle was moving at 110 km/h, its driver had three to four seconds to react to the traffic jam, says Timm.

His client's only mistake was that he didn't keep enough distance.

Exactly this fact was the crux. The traffic experts had calculated that the Dasinger's BMW was only 15.5 to 16.9 meters behind the other vehicles at a speed of 110 km/h. Far too little, as was clear to all those involved in the process. That's exactly why, said judge Christian Calame, "I think the 150 daily rates are very reasonable".

The chairman then gave the floor to the accused. And he, it became clear, deeply regrets what he did. "Since that day," he said, "my life has never been the same. It was the worst thing that could have happened.” He has been driving this route for 19 years. He still passes the scene of the accident every day. Because he was allowed to keep his job. "My employer stands by me." He couldn't remember the motorcycle. His memory only works again "when I get out of the car". Driving a car is no problem for him these days, he only winces when a motorcycle drives past him. He has been receiving psychological treatment since the tragedy on the A8. When asked if he had contacted the victim's family, he replied, "My psychologist advises against it."

After Judge Calame once again pointed out that he considered the determinations in the penalty order "appropriate for the crime and the guilt" and after a brief discussion with his lawyer, the accused withdrew his objection - because of the psychological stress, he said.