Drunk driving trial

Drunk at 1.6 per mille and raced into oncoming traffic

The accused appeared remorseful before the judge.

(Bild: Chantal Dorn / Krone Kreativ, Krone KREATIV)

On Wednesday, a 41-year-old man had to stand trial in Feldkirch (Vorarlberg) for causing a serious accident while drunk in March. The tragic consequences of the crash: the victim remains a nursing case. 

"I'm terribly sorry for everything. If I could undo it, I would." Late remorse from a drunk driver. For the 28-year-old victim, the insight of the accused family man comes too late. After the serious accident, he remains a nursing case.

The devastating collision happened in the early evening of March 9th on the L 190 in Nenzing. After attending a soccer match and a birthday party, the 41-year-old construction worker got into his car with 1.6 per mille alcohol in his blood and drove towards Bludenz. At the Liebherr company, he loses control of his car on a bend and crashes into oncoming traffic. The 28-year-old driver of the oncoming car tries to avoid a collision. But the level-headed young man has no chance.

I'm terribly sorry for everything. If I could undo it, I would.

Alkolenker vor Gericht

The 28-year-old's vehicle is thrown onto an adjacent embankment by the violent impact. While the drunk driver who caused the accident escapes with minor injuries, the young man from Nenzing is trapped in the vehicle and has to be cut out of the completely destroyed car by the fire department.

Craniocerebral trauma suffered
The seriously injured man was flown to hospital by rescue helicopter, where doctors fought for his life. Due to countless broken bones, vertebral fractures, a ruptured liver and spleen, a traumatic brain injury and cerebral edema, the victim had to be kept in artificial deep sleep for two months. The 28-year-old has been in a vegetative state since May. This is particularly devastating for his relatives: The young man will remain a nursing case forever!

Which is why the victims' representative, lawyer Sascha Lumper, is demanding partial compensation for pain and suffering amounting to 15,000 euros at the trial on Wednesday. Especially as the defendant had already pleaded guilty to negligent bodily harm at the beginning of the trial.

In his expert opinion, traffic expert Christian Wolf came to the conclusion that the victim had no chance at all and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. According to the expert, the 41-year-old drunk driver had raced into oncoming traffic at a speed of between 80 and 95 km/h. "Only 60 km/h is permitted on this stretch of road. This means that it would have been possible for the two vehicles to pass smoothly at the scene of the accident. The defendant should simply have stayed in his lane," Wolf concludes.

Only 60 km/h is permitted on the stretch of road. This means that it would have been possible for the two vehicles to pass smoothly at the scene of the accident. The defendant should simply have stayed in his lane.

Sachverständiger Christian Wolf

Verdict not yet final
Judge Alexander Wehinger finds the person responsible for the accident guilty as charged and imposes a 12-month prison sentence, eight of which are suspended. The judge awards the victim 15,000 euros in partial compensation for pain and suffering. The convict must pay this within 14 days. The verdict is not yet final.