An 88-year-old Styrian drove down three students on a protective path and seriously injured them. But the accused does not want to be able to remember anything, neither children nor a zebra crossing. But he would like his driver’s license back. The trial in Graz was adjourned because of an expert opinion.
“What? what did you say I don’t understand.” – The judge, prosecutor and defense attorney at the trial on Monday in Graz have to alternately yell in the direction of the accused so that he can hear something. The 88-year-old is hard of hearing and seems quite frail anyway. It’s about an accident in February . In front of a protective path, the Styrian overtook a cyclist who had stopped to let the children go to the other side. The brothers and their cousin were hit by the car and thrown against the windshield. “The children flew through the air,” he says Cyclist Judge Michaela Lapanje.”It looked terrible.””It was a child and not a water bottle”The defendant can neither remember a protective path nor children.”I flew a water bottle onto the window and it broke.” He brought the car to the workshop, he says.”It wasn’t a water bottle, it was a child!” Prosecutor Gudrun Jakopic can’t believe it. “There was nobody there. There is also no protective route there,” insists the 88-year-old. Even when the judge shows him the zebra crossing on Google Maps (“There were the children, and that’s where your window broke!”), the pensioner remains: “There’s no safe way.” The injured children also appear in court. They had to stay in the hospital for several days. They politely accept the apology of the pensioner. “That’s fine, thanks!” They explain politely. An expert will be appointed to assess the injuries sustained. That’s why it has to be adjourned. The accused doesn’t want to take any more tests. Before that, the judge wants to know from the accused what his driver’s license looks like. “He had to give it up. And you don’t want anyone anymore, do you?” the defense attorney asks in the direction of his client. “Well, if I can get him back easily, yes. But I won’t take any more exams…”
