A six-ton concrete slab came loose from a noise barrier on the A3 near Cologne in November 2020. A 66-year-old woman from Cologne died in the crash.
The trial in the case is scheduled to start in the summer. The public prosecutor's office has charged an employee of the construction company at the time with manslaughter by omission and endangering construction. Two employees of the NRW state road construction company are accused of negligent homicide. The defendants are said to have known about the construction defects and done nothing.