Restaurateur accused

Acquittal after persecution across the Mühlviertel

The defendant was finally acquitted(Bild: Dostal Harald)

An acquittal, albeit in doubt - this is how the trial against a restaurateur (47) from the Freistadt district ended on Wednesday. He was on trial because he was accused of driving his Porsche at the end of February in a high-speed chase after a plainclothes patrol, coercing and endangering three innocent drivers.

However, after consulting with his lawyer, the accused claimed that he had not been at the wheel himself. It was "Alex", a Ukrainian acquaintance from the industry, who suddenly turned up at the accused's restaurant in Linz and then drove the heavy Porsche towards the Mühlviertel in the early hours of the morning. He had entered the final destination, a fishing lodge, into the navigation system. The exhausted owner then fell asleep behind him in the back and only woke up when the police patrol was already speeding behind them with flashing blue lights.

And then came "Alex"
"Alex" had not let himself be slowed down, then jumped out of the car at the cabin and ran away. In fact, the defense lawyer had also presented a confession from the Ukrainian.

Residual doubts remain
During the trial itself, the main topic of discussion was whether and how three innocent people's lives had been put in danger while speeding through the Mühlviertel region early in the morning. In any case, the single judge found that there was not enough for a conviction, but said to the defendant: "There remains a residual doubt as to whether you were not driving yourself. "