After the fatal accident in Vienna by a racing driver who took part in an illegal race, legal experts are discussing the allegations. Could it be murder? The weapon would then be the car.
By the way, this is not the first time that Austria is faced with the question: what to do with the “insane” on the road if their behavior causes fatalities? In Graz, the amok driver who raced through the city center in his SUV on June 20, 2015 was convicted of three murders and 108 attempted murders. He not only has to go to an institution, he also has to be locked up for life.
In Vienna, on January 3, 2018, there was an act of desperation – with a car. A man raced through Vienna-Penzing in his suicidal Mercedes – with a speed of 102 and a blood alcohol level of 2.3. In a 30 zone he hit a Vespa head-on. The driver, a 37-year-old lawyer, and the passenger, a clerk, were killed. The driver survived, was convicted of murder and is also being held in an institution.
So it wouldn’t be the first time drivers have faced a jury for particularly dangerous and reckless driving that has claimed the lives of bystanders.
Aware of the danger?
Ingeborg Zerbes, professor of criminal law at the Juridicum in Vienna, considered this possible in a conversation with the APA. However, it is questionable whether the driver was aware that he was exposing himself to a high risk of serious injury or even death. Then he would have hidden this from other road users too – and it will be difficult for the willful crime of murder.
car as weapon
One way out could be for the car to be legally included as a weapon in criminal law in such cases – which is already possible in the current legal situation! And of course the seizure – in legal German “concept” – of the car. Because, the criminal lawyer is convinced, that would hit the potential speed demons the hardest. And it would lend itself to general prevention.
Incidentally, in Berlin, the verdict against a car racer was confirmed by the Federal Court of Justice. It was murder, the 27-year-old was sentenced to life. The case was very similar to the one in Vienna: two young men ran along Kurfürstendamm, a 69-year-old was hit in his car and died. It was concluded from the dangerousness of driving with the conditional intent to kill others…
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
