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Accident scene on the B247 near Bad Langensalza

Photo: Silvio Dietzel/dpa

Seven people died in a car accident near Bad Langensalza in Thuringia at the beginning of April 2023. The event shocked nationwide. “It will be very emotional,” said presiding judge Rüdiger Richel at the beginning of the hearing about the accident on Wednesday at the Mühlhausen district court.

The defendant, a 35-year-old man with alcohol problems who comes from the region, confessed immediately after the indictment was read out. His client fully admits the allegations made, said the man's defense attorney.

At the same time, the statement said that the defendant himself could no longer remember the day of the accident. But he was able to reconstruct the day based on the file documents, said the defense attorney. The day was as if it had been erased from his life, the defendant himself said later when questioned before the jury.

Blood alcohol level of at least 1.3 per mille

The 35-year-old is accused of, among other things, negligent homicide in seven cases, negligent bodily harm and driving without a license. According to the public prosecutor's office, on the day of the accident he was driving with two acquaintances on a bypass of Bad Langensalza and drove his car into oncoming traffic.

There he collided with a vehicle in which five 19-year-olds were traveling: three men and two women. A car that was driving behind the young people's car was also badly damaged. After the collision, it burst into flames, as did the teenagers' car. A gasoline tank that was damaged in the accident could have led to the rapid fire, an expert said in court.

The 19-year-olds did not survive the collision. The 60-year-old driver in the following car also died; his then 73-year-old passenger was able to escape from the burning vehicle. In addition, a 44-year-old passenger of the defendant also lost his life. The then 45-year-old passenger was seriously injured. The defendant's life was in danger for some time.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the man was driving faster than permitted at the time of the accident and did not have a driver's license. With a blood alcohol level of at least 1.3 per mille, as reconstructed by forensic medicine, he was also absolutely unfit to drive. According to an expert in court, the accident could have been avoided if the defendant had driven more slowly. The man lost his driving license in 2018. The defendant said in court that this was taken away from him because he was riding his bike while drunk.

Emotional negotiation

Some of the relatives came to the trial as co-plaintiffs with photos of the children they lost. They placed the pictures, which showed hopeful and young faces, so that the defendant could also see them.

When a witness described the accident from her memory with a shaky voice and tears, loud sobs could be heard in the hearing room. The woman reported how she could no longer do anything for the young people: "I wanted to help, but I couldn't, I just couldn't do it." The witness was a passenger in the car behind with her current husband and their children last car in an accident on the road. Not only she, but also her children were given psychiatric treatment after the incident.

The accident shocked and caused sympathy far beyond Thuringia. There were loud calls for stricter rules on drink driving. The extent of the grief and sympathy in the affected region was demonstrated, among other things, at an ecumenical memorial service. Hundreds of people lit candles and laid wreaths.

The Mühlhausen high school, which some of the young victims attended, worked with the city to plant a weeping willow near the school in memory of the dead. A fundraising campaign to support the families of the young victims has been launched.

wit/dpa