Parents lost their lives

Four dead after horror crash: Styrian sentenced

The Styrian was sentenced on Wednesday at Eisenstadt Regional Court.

(Bild: P. Huber)

Six months' conditional imprisonment: this is the sentence handed down to a young man (21) in Burgenland. He is alleged to have caused a traffic accident in August 2023 that left four people dead. The Styrian crashed into oncoming traffic on the Mattersburg S4 expressway without braking. His parents, who were in the car with him, as well as the driver and passenger of the oncoming vehicle were killed. 

The young man, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault, pleaded guilty in court. He had been on his way home from Familypark St. Margarethen with his family. He did not know why he crossed the double barrier line on the S4 at around 3.30 p.m. and crashed head-on into the car of a 54-year-old man.

Parents lost in horror crash
He could no longer remember the accident. According to the expert opinion, the Styrian was not under the influence of alcohol. Microsleep was therefore suspected as the cause of the accident - also because the others were asleep in the car during the journey. However, he had felt fit and not tired when he got into the car, said the 21-year-old, who himself and his girlfriend had escaped with serious injuries. 

The 54-year-old Burgenlander's car, which the then 20-year-old crashed into, was thrown over the crash barrier by the force of the collision. The driver died at the scene of the accident, as did the mother of the person who caused the accident. The 21-year-old's father succumbed to his serious injuries in hospital a few days later, while the 54-year-old's passenger died three months later.

Mild sentence for 21-year-old
The defendant must pay his girlfriend 1000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering. Judge Gabriele Nemeskeri awarded 100 euros to the passenger's daughter, who was not yet able to support herself. With a sentence of up to two years in prison, the verdict was rather lenient - partly because the 21-year-old was seriously injured himself and lost his parents in the accident, she noted. The verdict is not yet final, the public prosecutor's office did not issue a statement.