By Alina Groening
On June 8, 2022, a mentally ill man crashed into groups of pedestrians on Kurfürstendamm – killing a teacher from Hesse and injuring 16 young people, some of them critically. On Thursday the amok drive was celebrated for the first time. A vigil and a minute’s silence commemorated the victims.
District Mayor Kirstin Bauch (43, Greens) at the scene of the accident: “The physical injuries have certainly largely healed by now, but not the mental injuries.”
The school class had made their final trip to the capital. For the anniversary, a number of them returned to Berlin, as reported by Bauch.
Pupils from Bad Arolsen designed the steel figure in memory of their killed teacher Photo: Olaf Selchow
At the point where the driver drove into a group of people for the first time, a steel figure designed by students from Bad Arolsen was temporarily set up as a warning. Those affected want a lasting commemoration at the scene of the crime on Kudamm/corner of Rankestrasse.
But the young people wanted to commemorate in silence beyond the public vigil. “They own their own moment,” said Bauch. She has great respect for the young people who have found the courage to return to Berlin.
The Verkehrsclub Deutschland and the Fachverband Fußverkehr Deutschland (Fuss eV) also commemorated the terrible act.
The young people are also supported by the central contact point, which is based at the Berlin Senate Justice Administration. She coordinated offers of help for the injured, first aiders or eyewitnesses. According to a judicial spokeswoman, a total of 146 people were cared for after the rampage. To date, there are further contacts with 50 people.
Emergency services and passers-by take care of the injured after the rampage in June 2022 Photo: Olaf Wagner
The death driver (30) has now been convicted of murder and attempted murder in 16 cases. According to the conviction of the Berlin Regional Court, he committed the act in a state of acute psychosis. That’s why it ordered the man’s permanent placement in a psychiatric hospital.
With a view to this, the VDC chairman Heiner von Marschall called for better checking of the driving ability of drivers. Cars are “potentially deadly machines”.