Kempten Regional Court: Deadly Reckless Driving – Defendant in Murder Trial Expresses Regret
Deadly Speeding - Defendant in Murder Trial Regrets His Actions - Dual-citizen admits fleeing police before deadly 180 km/h crash in Germany
In the trial over a fatal high-speed police chase, the 21-year-old defendant confirmed the sequence of events. He admitted fleeing from police at high speed but insisted he had no intention of harming or killing anyone, he told the Kempten Regional Court. A court spokesperson described his statement, saying he had panicked at the thought of being caught by police yet felt he still had control of the situation despite his excessive speed. The defendant provided a detailed account of the incident and answered questions.
Driving Without a License
On the night of August 23 last year, the 21-year-old had been speeding through Kaufbeuren in a 240-horsepower car at up to 180 kilometers per hour to evade a police checkpoint—despite not having a driver's license. According to his own testimony, he had also consumed cocaine and alcohol, and he was facing unresolved charges for robbery.
Prosecutors allege he repeatedly caused near-accidents before ultimately colliding head-on with another vehicle. The 20-year-old driver of that car died at the scene, while his two passengers were injured. The victim's parents attended the trial's opening as co-plaintiffs.
Related Coverage
Prosecution Treats Fatal Crash as Murder
The public prosecutor's office accuses the defendant of accepting the risk of a deadly accident for other road users during his reckless drive. He has been charged with murder, as well as illegal street racing resulting in death and additional offenses.
The defendant's lawyer, Daniel Nißle, emphasized: "This was an accident." His client had not intended for the crash to happen. "He deeply regrets it."
Fleeing as Far as Poland
After the collision, the defendant fled on foot. In court, he stated that he had been uninjured and that his passenger also appeared unharmed. Because of this, he claimed he had not expected anyone in the other vehicle to be seriously or fatally injured.
He testified that, following the crash, he had sent his location to his brother, who picked him up near the scene and aided his escape. The brother has already received a suspended sentence for his role.
A local manhunt proved unsuccessful, but in early September, the 21-year-old—who holds dual German-Ukrainian citizenship—was arrested in Poland near the Ukrainian border and extradited to Germany. He has been in pretrial detention ever since.
Echoes of the Kurfürstendamm Crash
Nißle acknowledged that his client had been driving, lacked a license, and attempted to flee after the accident. "The issue is not the facts of the case but their legal classification," the lawyer said, referring to the murder charge.
In a legally distinct but comparable case, courts had ruled that a fatal illegal street race constituted murder. A decade ago, an innocent driver was killed during a race on Berlin's Kurfurstendamm, where two drivers ignored traffic lights and reached speeds of up to 160 km/h. The case went through multiple appeals before the Federal Court of Justice ultimately upheld the murder conviction.
The Kempten court has scheduled two additional hearing dates, with a verdict possible as early as next Tuesday.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
