Andreas case – run over by police car: “Not grossly negligent”

The wheels of justice grind slowly. Katharina Gerhardter-Kinner has been feeling this painfully for over a year. On November 18, 2021, the woman from Lungau lost her son Andreas (15) in a fatal traffic accident on a dirt road in the municipality of Göriach. The moped rider was run over by a police bus, model VW T6, during a chase and died at the scene of the accident.

Patience test for grieving mother
Since then, the grieving mother often wonders, “Why isn’t justice moving forward?” Because: the prosecutor’s office investigated the police officer for negligent homicide, but quickly dropped the case. Andreas’ mother fought to keep the investigation going. On May 19, the public prosecutor’s office of the Tamsweg court reported manslaughter.

But the court found the policeman’s behavior grossly negligent and therefore a more serious crime. The file went to the Salzburg regional court.

But now it is finally clear where the negotiations are taking place. Three criminal judges have discussed the case and sent it back to Tamsweg.

The subdistrict court does not see any gross negligence
The reason: the policeman was legally obliged to prosecute. In addition, he could not have expected that only street tires would be mounted on the dirt bike. The safety distance would have been sufficient if Andreas’ moped had not caught in the ground in the event of a fall. The trial date is still open.