An alcohol driver received a year of unconditional imprisonment after a fatal accident with an ambulance on Thursday. The 42-year-old got into the oncoming lane in Krenglbach (Wels-Land district) on November 8 and crashed head-on into the emergency vehicle in which two elderly patients were being transported. An 83-year-old subsequently died in hospital. The judgment is not final.
In court, the accused appeared remorseful and answered questions in a low voice. He pleaded guilty and said it was “the worst experience of his life”. He had previously had to give up his driver’s license twice for driving in an impaired condition. Shortly before the death trip, the 42-year-old, who was suffering from depression and bipolar disorder, even had his keys taken away in a check, but he had kept a spare key.
He couldn’t remember how the accident happened. His defense attorney calculated that the blood alcohol content at the time of the accident was below the limit and that microsleep was the cause of the collision instead, but the court only superficially shared this view.
The second, 82-year-old patient was seriously injured, the two Red Cross employees – then 21 and 22 years old – escaped with minor injuries, although the driver even had to be cut out of the wreck. According to the police report, the driver, who had previously been convicted several times, was also injured, he had drunk 0.85 per thousand alcohol in the alcohol test in the hospital. The Wels public prosecutor charged him with grossly negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm.
Source: Nachrichten
