The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Catalunya has ratified the five-year prison sentence for the driver from Lleida who fatally ran over a couple of motorcyclists on the A 22, on the stretch between Lleida and Alpicat, and who then fled. The resolution confirms the sentence issued in March 2024 by the Audiencia de Lleida.
The events date back to September 17, 2021. The convicted man was driving drunk and drugged when he hit the motorcycle on which the two victims, aged 41 and 39, were traveling, and abandoned the scene of the accident. At the oral hearing held in February 2024, he admitted his responsibility and asked for forgiveness.
The court rejects increasing the sentence
The TSJC has dismissed the appeals presented by the victims' relatives, who demanded an increase in both the sentence and the compensation. The court upholds the criminal response set by the Audiencia de Lleida and holds that it does not find compelling reasons to impose higher sentences.
For the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol in conjunction with two crimes of negligent homicide, he was sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison. The high court recalls that this sentence is six months above the minimum provided by law. To this are added another six months in prison for a crime of abandoning the scene of the accident.
"We do not find compelling reasons to impose penalties higher than those already set by the court" - Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Catalunya
Repentance is taken into account
In its resolution, the TSJC considers it appropriate that the repentance expressed by the accused during the trial be valued when individualizing the sentence. The chamber points out that there is no inconvenience in taking that circumstance into account.
During his statement in the Court, the convicted person came to state that before getting behind the wheel he had taken beers, mixed drinks and marijuana. He also assured that he did not know that he had crashed into the motorcycle on which the victims were traveling.
Without compensation for the abandonment of the place
The court also rejects recognizing the relatives an indemnity for moral damages derived specifically from the crime of abandonment of the scene of the accident. The chamber understands that that compensation is not appropriate because that unlawful act is not a crime against persons, but against collective safety.
Along the same lines, the TSJC reasons that the moral damage suffered by the appellants derives from the death of the victims and not from a subsequent action, in reference to the flight after the hit-and-run. Furthermore, it recalls that the penalty for abandoning the scene was already reduced upon appreciating the mitigating circumstance of intoxication.
The resolution is not yet final and can be appealed before the Supreme Court.