Driver in court

Caused an accident, then abandoned the victim

The defendant confessed, which was credited to him. However, the verdict is not yet final.(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

The accused was driving his colleague's car without a license when he crashed into the car of a 33-year-old woman last December. On Thursday, the 29-year-old driver who caused the accident stood before the regional court in Feldkirch.

The unemployed defendant is facing around 20,000 euros in fines. The 29-year-old Turk also has four previous convictions to his name. In his most recent conviction, he was sentenced to two years in prison, but was then conditionally released early.

In the current trial, the stakes are high, because if he is found guilty, he risks having his conditional suspended sentence revoked. This means that he could be sent back to prison.

The 29-year-old has to answer for a traffic accident in Feldkirch in December in Lustenau. A 33-year-old woman was injured at the time. It was not the first time that the Turkish man had borrowed his friend's car. The colleague knew that the accused did not have a driver's license and that day the "collegiality" came to a bad end.

While driving from Höchsterstraße in the direction of Lustenau, the driver without a license disregarded the right of way when turning into Hagstraße and crashed into the 33-year-old's car. Instead of attending to the victim, the driver who caused the accident fled the scene. It was passers-by who alerted the emergency services and took care of the victim until the paramedics arrived.

Defendant claims to have returned 
During the trial on Thursday, the accused initially claimed that he had not been able to get through to the victim due to the large number of people. However, a short time later he returned to the scene of the accident to look after the victim.

However, the witnesses already denied this during the police interrogation. The victim, who also spoke at the trial, could not confirm the defendant's version either: "I can't say whether he was there or not. I was unconscious at the time." Because she is still unable to drive due to the knee injury she suffered, the woman is demanding 5000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering.

The defendant confesses and is prepared to pay partial compensation. Judge Sabrina Tagwercher therefore sentenced the driver to a fine of 1440 euros and to pay 2500 euros to the victim. In the end, the councilor refrains from revoking the conditional suspended sentence. Instead, the probation period is extended to five years. C. Dorn