It happened after a party north of Graz: the previously completely blameless man actually wanted to spend the night with a friend who was celebrating her birthday. But things turned out differently: when he had already drunk “six to eight bottles of Desperados”, a dispute broke out between a couple of friends. The girl really wanted to go home, so the 21-year-old got behind the wheel.
Prosecutor Stefan Pirker said that the young man was traveling too fast on a wet road. The defendant did not deny this. His defense attorney said: “It was a big mistake that cannot be undone.” Meanwhile, the dead girl’s parents cried in the courtroom. The accused had already paid the parents compensation and sent them a letter with an apology, knowing full well that he could not ease the pain, the defense attorney said. “That will also accompany him for the rest of his life.”
But his client takes full responsibility. In fact, the young man did not try any excuses and described how he helped his passenger out of the car after the accident and also wanted to pull the girl out: “But she was stuck somewhere.” And as a firefighter, he knows that you shouldn’t pull then. He ran to the nearest settlement and rang every doorbell for help. But there was no rescue for the 17-year-old.
“In retrospect, I realize that I shouldn’t have driven,” admitted the 21-year-old ruefully. “It was his first traffic accident, he didn’t even have a mandate for speeding – completely blameless,” said the judge. Nevertheless, a sign must be set as a general preventive measure. The sentence is 18 months imprisonment, six of which are unconditional, twelve of which are conditionally suspended for a probationary period of three years. The accused accepted the verdict, the prosecutor made no statement.
Source: Nachrichten
