By Anne Losensky
A pedestrian falls under an SUV, is trapped and dragged. When the driver stops half a kilometer on Marienfelder Chaussee, the woman is dead.
Tiergarten District Court. Accused: Construction manager Robert N. (36) from Rudow. November 17, 2022, 7:10 p.m. The father of the family is traveling with his wife and children in the Renault Kadjar in Neukölln; it is dark and wet with rain.
The SUV leaves the parking lot in front of a pharmacy. Slowly turn right onto Marienfelder Chaussee. Turn around at the Lichtenrader Damm intersection near the ESSO gas station. Continue along Marienfelder Chaussee towards the city center.
Defendant Robert N. (36): “She was just stuck under the car” Photo: Olaf Wagner
Robert N. stops in front of number 131 and gets out. “I heard a strange noise,” he says. “Looked under the car. Saw a woman there. Was shocked. I can’t explain how she came here. It was just stuck under the car.”
The accident reconstruction shows that the woman (56) was dragged for almost 500 meters. She was stuck on her back under the car, head towards the front bumper. “There were no external injuries, no impact marks, no contact with a wheel. But there was massive blood congestion in the lungs and the woman suffocated,” says the autopsy.
The police are examining the scene of the accident on Marienfelder Chaussee for possible signs of an accident Photo: Spreepicture
A police officer: “We didn’t find any major impact marks on the car, just her bag and a cane at the point where the SUV had turned right onto the road.”
The accident expert (46): “There was a minimal frontal impact on the passenger side, the woman was pulled under the car and wedged.” She was wearing a thick padded jacket with a hood, the road was wet, the friction was low – it is conceivable that the driver did not do something immediately heard about it. “But if he had looked to the right, the accident could have been avoided.”
The defense attorney: “It could be that she was just bending over to pick up her lost plastic bag, she was 1.58 meters tall and was dressed in dark clothes – then she wouldn’t have been visible!” This objection is not enough for the traffic judge to acquit.
The accident victim’s bag is still on the side of the road Photo: Spreepicture
The verdict: a fine of 2,700 euros for negligent homicide (90 daily rates of 30 euros each). The judge: “A pedestrian like that doesn’t fall from the sky, you could have seen her – and should have seen her!”