A man has been sent to prison for three years for causing the death of his wife in a car accident on Christmas Eve 2020. He had been drunk at the wheel.
The accident took place within the municipality of Tomares in the province of Sevilla on the road between Tomares and Castilleja. His driving skills had been severely impaired by the large intake of alcohol on this festive occasion.
At one point he was going so fast that he lost control of the vehicle, hitting a crash barrier, that burst through his car, entering just below the headlight and came out through the boot, impaling his wife in the front seat, killing her instantly. The piece of metal also hit his niece’s leg, who was sitting in the back.
The momentum of the car took it a further 20 metres before stopping, with the snapped-off crash barrier sticking out of it.
When a traffic-police patrol arrived they immediately saw that the man was drunk, so they breathalysed him, giving a reading of 0.86, which is considered “an severe inebriation.” Inspection of the crash site estimates that the car was travelling between 76 and 87 kilometres per hour on a stretch of road with a speed limit of 50 kph.
There were six people in the car at the time of the accident, including the driver’s sister and their 2-year-old daughter in a baby-seat. There was only one fatality but the other occupants all received fractures and other injuries.
The driver’s lawyer entered a guilty plea leading to a prison sentence of three years and one day for grave negligent manslaughter. He also lost his driving licence for a period of six years and together with the car-insurance company has to compensation to his wife’s parents, his sister, his daughter and the other occupants to the tune of 420,000 euros.
(News: Tomares, Sevilla, Andalucia)
Keywords: Drink Driving, Christmas Eve, Speeding, Crash Barrier, Passenger Impaled, Prison Sentence, Compensation
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