Today, recordings of a tragic event involving a bus and a group of people have circulated the native Internet. The 19-year-old died as a result of being hit by a bus, and the behavior of the bus driver is widely commented on. Some people call him a murderer. What is going on?
A 19-year-old is hit by a bus in Katowice
According to the latest information – here, among others for RMF24 – the bus driver is in custody and he has not yet been charged. There is a presumption of innocence, and we do not have – neither me nor internet users – any precise information about the event. One can only deliberate, and any guilt (and even the status of a suspect) should not be prejudged.
The incident took place this morning. The recording – which, however, I will not attach, although it can be easily found on the Internet – shows quite a large group of people beating in the middle of the street. Then a bus pulled up to them and it stopped late enough that it “gently” hit one of the women. This angered the crowd and probably some of the participants in the incident redirected their aggression to the bus driver. It is not clearly visible on the video, but some were to start trying to open the bus door, perhaps to “crack down” on the driver.
Regardless of whether or not the above actually occurred, the driver suddenly started driving into the crowd. The description of internet users, as well as the second recording (presenting the view from a different perspective) shows that one of the women fell under the bus and died as a result. Her body was found about 100 meters from where the bus hit the crowd.
The driver was detained and tested for the presence of alcohol and other drugs. However, tests showed that he was completely sober at the time of the incident. As I indicated at the beginning, he has been detained and is waiting for possible charges to be presented.
Internet users are ruthless, often calling the driver a murderer, although the comments also include – in my opinion, equally, or even more tactless – a kind of praise.
What did the driver do?
The investigators will, of course, make arrangements that will (I hope) allow for the correct legal classification of the act, as well as the appropriate determination of the perpetrator’s motives. Referring to the recording only, it is quite difficult.
The event itself should – in the sense of an overall assessment – be broken down into two stages. First of all, it seems reprehensible just to stop the vehicle in front of a group of people, also done in such a way that the driver de facto hit one of the people by bus. The main event itself, i.e. the fatal hitting of a 19-year-old girl, should not, in my opinion, be considered an accident.
Is it a homicide? It seems to me that due to the dynamics of the event, it is rather “at stake” that the manslaughter should come into play (because it is hard for me to believe that the perpetrator would consciously want or consent to take a woman’s life, although he should certainly have foreseen such an outcome, and despite this, he did not do so). Of course, these are completely loose thoughts – after all, we do not know if the mere pressing of the gas was fully intentional.
The topic of possible threat from the crowd is interesting. It is difficult to talk about counter-type necessary defense (which is obvious, since the “attack” came from a completely different side), and even in a state of higher necessity. Perhaps a possible penalty could be remarkably alleviated under the conditions of 29 of the Penal Code (i.e. the driver was in the unjustified error of assuming that if he did not run away, his health and life would be directly threatened).
The above considerations are, of course, loose considerations, and the appropriate determination of the facts and then linking them to the relevant legal norms is up to the law enforcement authorities, and then – possibly – to the judiciary.
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