Convertible driver convicted: student seriously injured on school trip!

Convertible driver convicted: student seriously injured on school trip!

The incident that took place on August 14, 2022 on the picturesque island of Rügen demonstrates how quickly life can change. A 13-year-old student was seriously injured during a school trip in Prora when he was allegedly hit by a convertible driver. According to the Zevener Zeitung, the driver, a 47-year-old entrepreneur, was recently convicted in court.

The riot began when the group of seven students were out at around 9 p.m. that evening and the boy provocatively insulted the driver of the convertible with the middle finger. What was intended to be a harmless joke ended in tragedy. The driver turned his vehicle around and sped towards the boy at increased speed. “I couldn’t get out of the way in time,” said the defendant. According to Buten un Binnen, the boy was thrown several meters through the air before landing on a grassy area.

The consequences of the incident

The student suffered traumatic brain injury, abdominal trauma and multiple wounds. Luckily, he was able to return to the youth hostel on his own, where his friends quickly called an emergency doctor. He was finally flown by helicopter to the Greifswald Clinic and has now left the hospital.

The classmates' reactions were immediate. Since they didn't have cell phones with them, they carried the seriously injured boy to the youth hostel themselves, where they got help. The entire class is in shock and is receiving psychological care after witnessing such a trauma.

Trial and sentencing

In court, the driver was ultimately fined 12,000 euros for negligent bodily harm and hit-and-run. The presiding judge Harald Nolte found that the man had done everything wrong that a driver can do wrong, but that there was no intention to harm the boy. The defendant's driver's license remains suspended for one and a half years, while the public prosecutor's office had demanded a suspended prison sentence of two years.

Surprisingly, the driver had hidden the convertible, a silver E46 BMW convertible, a few weeks after the incident, which he did on the advice of his lawyer, according to the court. This vehicle was then seized during a house search on September 5, 2022.

Social discussion about juvenile crime

These dramatic events also shed light on the current situation regarding juvenile crime in Germany. This reached a peak in 2024 with around 13,800 cases, more than twice as high as in 2016, according to an analysis by Statista. Humans are known to often make rash decisions in difficult situations - an explanation that could also apply to the driver's behavior and possibly to the student's provocations.

The question remains how to address the increasing youth violence. Debates about tougher sanctions in the juvenile justice system continue to take place, while calls for stronger preventive measures are also growing louder in order to avoid such incidents in the future. In this context, it is crucial to approach children and young people in order to identify possible abnormalities at an early stage and to take action.