Family Of Polish Man Killed In Hit-And-Run Forgives Teenage Maltese Driver As His Sentence Is Appealed In Court
The family of a Polish man who was killed in 2017 while cycling in Warsaw has forgiven the 17-year-old Maltese who man lost control of the Mercedes he was driving as his defence sought an appeal on his sentence.
The wife of the victim had stated that she didn’t want such a big sentence, claiming that even if the sentence was a harsher one, it wouldn’t bring back her husband.
The accused, known only to press as Piero C., was originally sentenced in April last year to four years in prison with a lifetime ban on driving.
His lawyers are now pushing for a shortened sentence of 18 months in prison and a 10-year driving ban, but prosecutors have argued against the appeal.
Piero C.’s defence made the appeal on the basis of a number of miscarriages in the subsequent investigations, particularly the lack of any official signatures on the paperwork issued that called for the blood tests that proved the presence of THC in the driver’s system.
Because of the lack of due diligence in preliminary tests provided that helped decide the initial sentence, lawyer Magdalena Gawińska posed the counterargument of insufficient evidence to prove the blood tested even belonged to the accused.
Gawińska also contested that the area in which the incident occurred was an accident blackspot, bringing to light the fact that several accidents had occurred in the same area before and that, a few months after the accident, new speed bumps and road markings had appeared on the road.
Gawińska closed the defence’s statement by adding that the accused had reconciled with the wife of the cyclist while still in custody, claiming that it was “youthful stupidity that caused somebody to lose their life”.
“Referring to the allegation of improper maintenance of the road on which the accident occurred, it should be noted that regardless of the conditions prevailing there, it is the accused as a person behind the wheel who has an absolute obligation to travel at a safe speed,” the prosecutors said in response. “The sentence imposed is a just punishment adequate to the degree of guilt.”
Initial investigations had determined the Mercedes was going at double the speed limit of the road, set at 30. Another factor in the case not discussed this time was the fact that Piero was driving without a license.
Now 19 years old, Piero C. spoke freely in his address to the judge.
“Being where I am now, I cannot help my own family or the family of the deceased,” he said in his apology. “It’s not about losing my time, but from my point of view the most important thing should be not to draw conclusions.”
The appeal is now being considered, with the final verdict to be issued on December 17th.