Speeder charged with attempted murder

The 34-year-old, who is in custody, denies the alleged intent to kill. “This is not attempted murder. At most it is coercion,” said his defense attorney Rudolf Mayer on Friday afternoon. The Serbian-born man does not have a driver’s license and the Jaguar he was driving was not registered for traffic. In addition, the 34-year-old was under the influence of cannabis when officers from the Meidling city police command wanted to subject him to a routine check at around 8:30 p.m. on the Gaudenzdorfer Gürtel. Instead of stopping, the man pressed the accelerator. “He did not have a visa,” explained defense attorney Mayer about the motive.

While fleeing from the police, the Jaguar driver ignored several red lights. He ran down a cyclist and crashed into an oncoming vehicle, seriously injuring the passenger in the other car as well as the 46-year-old cyclist. Both ended up in hospital with broken bones.

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Attacked two police officers

The prosecution sees attempted murder as having occurred because, according to the indictment, the 34-year-old drove at two police officers who had stood in his way with their service weapons drawn. According to the public prosecutor, the officers were only able to save themselves at the last moment by jumping to the side. From the defense’s point of view, the victims were not in danger of death: “These are trained officers and not invalids. They know what they have to do in a situation like this.”

It is also unclear whether or when the defendant saw the officers at all and whether he braked when he saw them, said Mayer. “No report from a traffic expert was obtained during the investigation,” complained the defense attorney. It is not clear at what speed the defendant was actually traveling: “I have therefore requested the involvement of a motor vehicle expert and the obtaining of a report.” This is to be presented during the main hearing – there is no date for this yet.

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The police chase ended when the Jaguar crashed head-on into an oncoming vehicle on Landstrasser Gürtel. The driver tried to escape by jumping out of the car. He was caught by the police a short time later. In his first interview, he claimed that one of his cousins ​​was behind the wheel of the Jaguar. However, several witnesses – including the police officers who had wanted to stop him – clearly identified him as the driver of the vehicle, whereupon he changed his responsibilities.