This is revealed in a recent judgment from the Gulating Court of Appeal, which sentences the woman to ten months in prison for negligent homicide.
The tragic accident happened at Valestrandsfossen on Osterøy in August 2021. A group of friends were just going to drive to the shop, but during the drive one car crashed into a rock outcrop on the side of the road.
Passenger Lena Maria Aase (18) died as a result of the crash. The driver, one of Aase’s best friends, was prosecuted for negligently causing her friend’s death.
also read
Driver questioned after fatal accident: – She is completely devastated
Was acquitted first
According to the indictment, the car had a speed of at least 104 km/h in the 60-zone just before the accident occurred.
In the Hordaland District Court, the friend was sentenced to 30 days’ suspended imprisonment. The district court concluded that the young woman did not behave so reprehensibly that she could be held criminally responsible for the death.
She was therefore acquitted of negligently causing her friend’s death, but convicted of breaching the Road Traffic Act.
The survivors made a claim for compensation and compensation. Also on this point, the 19-year-old was acquitted.
The prosecution chose to appeal the sentence, because they believed that she should be sentenced for negligent homicide.
Now the Court of Appeal has come to a completely different decision than the District Court.
“Too mild”
In the judgment from the court of appeal, they conclude that the district court has set a “too lenient standard” as the basis for the assessment of the 19-year-old’s diligence, as they only found her guilty of negligence in traffic.
“The very central thing about the assessment is that the defendant was driving at a speed of 104 km/h, which the Court of Appeal finds was undoubtedly markedly above a reasonable speed given the road conditions at the site”they write.
also read
Lost her best friend in a fatal crash: – I remember the bang very well
They believe that the driver’s speed through the bend was so high that it was inevitable that the car would lose traction.
“In other words, there was a great danger that the defendant, regardless of all other elements in the traffic picture, had lost control of the car, and at such a speed it goes without saying that it would have led to a serious accident with a great risk of death for those involved”.
The 19-year-old herself explained that it was an animal that got in the way that caused her to lose control. The Court of Appeal has not attached much weight to this explanation, and believes that the speed was anyway the main reason why it went so wrong.
– Terribly sorry
In addition to ten months in prison, the woman must pay compensation to Lena Maria Aase’s parents and boyfriend totaling NOK 390,000. She has also been disqualified from driving for four years.
Kjetil Johannes Ottesen is the 19-year-old’s defender. He has registered that the Court of Appeal has reached a different conclusion than the District Court.
– Regardless of which legal provision it falls under, my client is terribly sorry for what has happened. This is something that will stick with her for the rest of her life, says Ottesen to BA.
No decision has been taken on whether the judgment should be appealed to the Supreme Court.
2023-04-26 09:26:29
#acquitted #negligent #homicide #Lena #Maria #died #friend #sentenced
