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E-scooter (symbolic image)

Photo: Britta Pedersen / picture alliance / dpa

The Berlin Regional Court has sentenced a 44-year-old man to six years in prison for throwing an e-scooter from a bridge onto a federal highway. The man was found guilty of attempted murder as well as dangerous interference with road traffic.

Annoyed by electric scooters standing around, he threw a 29-kilogram device onto a three-lane road. The throw was "cross-dangerous," said the presiding judge.

"The case of the scooter was absolutely unpredictable"

It was 9:10 a.m. on June 12, 2023, when the defendant grabbed an e-scooter belonging to a rental company on the Gensinger Bridge in Friedrichsfelde and threw it onto the street. According to investigations, a motorist was only able to prevent a collision by braking hard and taking evasive action. The defendant had stood with his back to the three-lane road and thrown. He had acted treacherously, according to the court. "The fall of the scooter was absolutely unpredictable."

The 44-year-old was aware that in the event of a collision with a vehicle or another collision resulting from an evasive maneuver, there could also have been a fatal accident for the occupants, the indictment said. He had come to terms with that. The man had accepted personal injury and property damage.

Defense demanded probation

Two weeks after the incident, the 44-year-old was arrested. He has been in custody since then. He had been identified as a suspect, especially through the evaluation of DNA traces, police and prosecutors said at the time. The trained bricklayer has already appeared in criminal proceedings several times. During the trial, he had stated that he had "wanted to set an example", but that he had "made sure that nothing happened" before throwing the ball. He regretted the deed.

With the verdict, the court essentially followed the request of the prosecutor, who had asked for six years and nine months in prison. The defence lawyer had pleaded for a suspended sentence for dangerous interference with road traffic. His client had acted spontaneously, the mental state of the then unemployed man had been desolate, he had previously consumed drugs. The incident was not an attempted homicide, the lawyer said. The verdict is not yet final.

bbr/dpa