On the night of August 5, 2022, 34-year-old Michael Wilhelm from Gilching was run over by a car in a field near Eching near Neufahrn and was seriously injured.
Since then, Wilhelm has been fighting his way back to life.
Now satellite data should help to find the culprit, who has been on the run to this day.
Gilching
– Michael Wilhelm himself would not have thought it possible that he would be able to take his first steps again on Christmas of all days.
Because when he opened his eyes on August 16, 2022 in the intensive care unit of the Ingolstadt Clinic, almost no bone in his body was intact.
In his memory he had just been to the Brass Wiesn in Eching in the beer tent.
It is still unclear what happened that night on August 5, 2022 at around 12:30 a.m.
The fact is: Wilhelm was run over by a car at high speed in a field outside the festival area and left at the scene of the accident with serious injuries.
The Starnberger Merkur also reported on the case.
The driver involved in the accident is still on the run.
Parts of a dark-colored BMW X5 of an older design are said to have been found at the scene of the accident.
Andreas Aichele from the press office of the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria North confirmed this on Friday.
He also said: "The topic is very important to us." And he hopes that "the person or those who know about it will ease their conscience because of the reporting".
How does a human do that?
Wilhelm was in an artificial coma for twelve days, a total of 16 weeks in the hospital.
He survived seven surgeries and at least two more are pending.
His injury record: left thigh openly dislocated inside;
Adductors and vessels torn, left knee dislocated, right thigh complex fracture, seven broken ribs, broken spinous processes of the spine, left collarbone dislocated, both shoulder blades torn, water between lung and chest, hence chest drainage.
Wilhelm is 1.85 meters tall.
When the car hit him, he weighed 96 kilograms.
It is considered unlikely that the driver did not notice the impact.
The impact speed is assumed to be up to 80 kilometers per hour, which is also the assumption of the treating doctors.
"The question is what the driver did on the meadow," says Wilhelm.
Satellite images show a circular track on the field.
"Maybe he was practicing drifting and caught me doing it." He would also like to remember the way to his overnight tent and how he got from the festival site to the field.
Of course he'd had a few beers, "but I wasn't totally off the hook."
In the past few weeks, Wilhelm has fought his way back to life.
At his side is his wife Alexandra (34) and his four-year-old son Ferdinand.
Yes, he knows moments of discouragement and exhaustion.
“Physically, psychologically and financially, the strain is extreme.
It's a marathon, and nobody knows what's to come," says the 34-year-old, who works as a strategic buyer at TQ Systems in Seefeld and has been on sick leave for months now.
"Fortunately, I have a very understanding boss, I'm very grateful for that." He was also grateful for the police work.
"In particular, the lead investigator is very involved, despite all the bureaucratic hurdles."
His family and friends support him privately.
The Wilhelms have been living in Gilching for five years. Michael Wilhelm is a member of the Guichinga Tradition.
Its chairman René Weber spontaneously initiated a fundraising campaign in August.
Wilhelm is also touched by the encouragement at the Ingolstadt Clinic, the team led by Dr.
George Scherer.
"It all gives me strength." He worries about his little son, who has been living in a family in a state of emergency for a few months now.
Wilhelm's wife Alexandra sounds fresh and determined on the phone, despite everything.
"We can do it," she says.
And is full of respect for her husband's stamina.
A comrade-in-arms at Wilhelm's side is 55-year-old Martin Erhardt from Ulm.
The two have been friends for years and know each other from sailing on Lake Constance, where Wilhelm grew up.
Erhardt, project manager at the Steinbeis Foundation for Economic Development in Stuttgart, is certain that there are satellite images of the accident.
He knew from a reliable source that even the license plate could be determined and the routes.
"But data protection and bureaucracy make research difficult." Nevertheless, Erhardt asked the German Aerospace Center (DLR) about the case.
"We'll take a very close look at it," DLR press spokesman Andreas Schütz told Starnberger Merkur on Friday.
Again and again, images from space are requested for research into criminal cases.
However, he also concedes: "It takes a lot of luck that one of the satellites took usable pictures in high resolution at the exact time of the accident."
In Erhardt's eyes, the accident is not a traffic offense either, as it is being processed by the police.
In view of the speed of the accident vehicle, namely at least 80 km/h, the process could also be classified as "attempted homicide", he thinks, and then the criminal police would have to investigate with all their other options.
He fears for his friend and his family, who are sometimes at the end of their strength and so brave.
"I also have a certain basic aggression there, I have to admit that." Press spokesman Aichele understands the emotions.
"But that's up to the public prosecutor's office." When asked by Starnberger Merkur on Friday, they did not want to comment because the investigation was still ongoing.
Wilhelm is not interested in revenge with the publication, "absolutely not".
But compensation and thus financial security, “that would really help us”.
Hence his appeal to the accident driver: "Relieve your conscience and face the police."