The Provincial Court of Almería has imposed a sentence of ten years in prison on the driver who caused the death of a neighbor from Alhama de Almería in December 2022, after hitting the victim's parked car with his truck in reverse and moving it almost five meters. As a consequence, the woman, who was on the sidewalk, became trapped between her own vehicle and the facade of a residential building.
The sentence, issued this Thursday after the guilty verdict rendered by a jury last June, declares the defendant guilty of a crime of homicide. In addition to the prison sentence, he is imposed five years of supervised release during which he will be prohibited from approaching the street where the deceased and her family lived.
The presiding judge Jesús Miguel Hernández sets the sentence at the minimum penalty provided for homicide, compared to the 13 years requested by the Prosecutor's Office and the 15 demanded by the private prosecution, exercised by lawyers Miguel Ángel and Francisco Torres, considering "eventual intent" -- it was not proven that he acted with the intention to kill --, the absence of criminal records, and the fact that the accused remained at the scene of the accident.
According to the judicial resolution, consulted by Europa Press, around 12:20 p.m. on December 19, 2022, the accused was backing out with his truck from a warehouse used as a garage for the Mirasierra nursing home, where he worked. In front of the exit, less than two meters away, the victim's car was correctly parked in a reserved space.
To leave the garage, the driver made several maneuvers backward and forward, eventually colliding with the parked car. Its owner, who was next to the vehicle on the sidewalk, observed what was happening and reproached him for the maneuver, even hitting the truck several times with her hand.
Despite these warnings, the accused continued with his movements without getting out of the vehicle to check for possible damages. He completely drove the truck into the warehouse down the ramp and, when attempting to exit again, gave a "strong acceleration in reverse," being aware that the woman was in the vicinity.
As a consequence of this last maneuver, the victim's tourism was violently pushed and moved almost five meters from its initial position, invading the sidewalk and crushing the woman against the facade of the residential building. The serious injuries suffered caused her death on January 6 of the following year.
The jury concluded, based on the statements and the videos incorporated into the trial, that the accused acted "without taking the most basic precautions" to ensure that the victim "was not in his path." Thus, it understood that the defendant was aware of the "danger of the maneuver and the high probability of running her over, assuming this possibility."