55-Year-Old Sentenced After Accident Due to Microsleep

The accused veered onto the opposite lane on a country road in daylight and collided head-on with a Mercedes Sprinter. The 55-year-old woman, represented by defense attorney Peter Philipp, accepted the verdict. The prosecutor did not initially comment. Thus, the decision is not yet legally binding.

55-Year-Old After Vacation Accident: "It Was Microsleep"

The accident occurred on July 20, 2023, at 4:00 PM near the Montenegrin capital Podgorica. The weather was good, the road dry, and the woman was not driving too fast at 77 kilometers per hour in her Skoda, as a traffic expert later determined. "It was microsleep," the 55-year-old said during the trial. She had been driving since 7:00 AM, had taken breaks, but did not interrupt the last leg in the afternoon: "I was actually quite fit. It was 20 kilometers to the destination. I thought I could make it."

In the crash, the 85-year-old man in the passenger seat and the 73-year-old mother of the driver, sitting behind her partner, lost their lives. The driver herself was seriously injured and received intensive medical treatment in a Montenegrin hospital for fractures of the cervical spine and numerous other fractures before being transferred to Vienna by air transport for further care. In the other vehicle, one man suffered serious injuries and three other passengers sustained minor injuries. When asked about her current condition, the 55-year-old said she was feeling "very bad." She was referring mainly to her mental health: "It burdens me to this day. My mother was everything to me."

(APA/Red)

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