Death drama in Upper Austria

1600 euro fine for grandpa who ran over grandson

The tragedy happened on 11 May in the barn of a farm in Kirchberg ob der Donau.

(Bild: Dostal Harald)

On his parents' farm in Upper Austria, little Roland (2) was run over by a farm tractor driven by his own grandfather. The 66-year-old was investigated for involuntary manslaughter. The broken man finally received a diversionary offer, which he accepted. The criminal proceedings have thus been discontinued.

It was a fateful tragedy of appalling proportions. The 66-year-old grandfather had been working with a wheel loader in the barn at Roland's parents' farm in Kirchberg ob der Donau on May 11. He must have noticed that his two-year-old grandson came running in from outside.

The little boy wanted to keep his grandfather company and happily ran after the agricultural vehicle. And that's when the fatal mistake happened: the 66-year-old put the vehicle into reverse and apparently forgot to look in the rear-view mirror.

Under the wheels
The consequences were dramatic. The two-year-old was knocked down by the heavy Hoftrac and rolled over, leaving Roland with fatal injuries.

A world collapsed for his family, who had to receive psychological support. The pain of loss was and is enormous for everyone. The grandfather in particular reproaches himself for having overlooked his grandson.

Fine instead of conviction
As reported, the public prosecutor's office had filed a criminal complaint against the man on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter. However, a diversionary (extrajudicial) measure could not be ruled out. This has now been implemented in the form of a fine.

Diversionary settlements occur time and again, especially for district court offenses in the less serious area.

Walter Eichinger, Sprecher des Landesgerichtes Linz

"The defendant has accepted the offer to pay 1,600 euros. The money has already been transferred and the proceedings have been legally discontinued," says Walter Eichinger, spokesman for the Linz Regional Court.

Previous conviction spared
The 66-year-old was thus spared a previous conviction. The prerequisites for the diversionary settlement: "The man has accepted responsibility in the preliminary proceedings. In addition, his previous integrity, his age - and the fact that he himself was also badly affected by the death of his grandson."