The men on their mats didn’t have a chance to get to safety in time: three homeless people were critically injured when two years ago at Zoo station an off-road vehicle left the road and crashed into the group. A young man was behind the wheel – drunk, without a license and upset because his girlfriend had broken up.
Refail A., who remained unscathed, screamed and whimpered a lot at the scene of the accident. He initially sat in silence in front of the Tiergarten District Court on Tuesday. It was 7.20 a.m. on July 26, 2020 when A. was sitting in an SUV registered in Estonia, which probably belonged to the father of his girlfriend at the time. The 26-year-old is said to have turned at the intersection of Joachimsthaler Strasse and Hardenbergstrasse at a red traffic light – according to the indictment at 65 to 70 kilometers per hour.
He then lost control of the heavy car, struck a sign post and finally crashed into the sidewalk area with the three sleeping men at a speed of 50 to 55 kilometers per hour.
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A 36-year-old was thrown from a wheelchair. He and the two other homeless people were run over. One of the men was pinned under the SUV. All suffered various fractures and other injuries. The 36-year-old had a leg amputated. Three passers-by who tried to get to safety in front of the car on Sunday morning and fell suffered minor injuries.
Federal police officers were quickly on site. A. was still in the car. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I wanted to kill myself, I’m so sorry,” he is said to have shouted again and again. And: “I’m at the end, my girlfriend left me.” However, A. also stated that he had lost control of the car, an official said in court on Tuesday.
In the process of endangering road traffic, negligent bodily harm and driving without a license, A. wants to comment on Thursday.
