He was to pick up Christmas presents to surprise the children and his cohabitant, but made a fatal choice when he sat behind the wheel: – I could have gone instead, the defendant said in court.
Just updated
–
The destination was only a few minutes away, if he had gone through the housing association. Still, he went to the garage, even though he had recently lost his driver’s license.
Four hours earlier, he had smoked hashish and taken GHB, but did not feel intoxicated.
– I heard a thump, says the man in his 30s about the moment when the car hit Dhenujen Yogathas in Maria Dehlis vei in Oslo in the evening darkness 17 December 2020.
He is accused of negligently causing the 13-year-old’s death last year, but pleaded not guilty to car murder when the criminal case opened in Oslo District Court on Monday.
–They were three boys who had just crossed Maria Dehli’s road and were going down a muddy forest road. He saw them as figures on the side of the road. There are no sidewalks on site.
Then movement
– I see a movement on the right side, the defendant explained in court.
He takes his foot on the brake pedal when one of the people walks a little out into the roadway. Then the person withdraws. He lifts his foot, the car rolls on.
He himself estimates the speed to be between 50 and 60 kilometers per hour. Experts have estimated the speed at 64 km / h. Today there is a 40-zone on site. At the time, it was 50-zone, according to defendants.
He does not think the accident could have been avoided.
– He came out so fast, he explains in court.
–– Did not think clearly
After the collision, he braked for a moment before driving on.
The deceased’s friends have explained that they did not hear the car.
The police officer who took their explanation after the accident, told the court that their friend did not want to go the forest road because he did not want the shoes to get wet and dirty.
– He took 2-3 steps backwards while talking to his friends. They heard it narrowly. And then they no longer saw him behind them, the police officer explained.
Defendant says he saw the car that came in, but not the boy who was thrown or driven 40-50 meters before he was run over by the other car.
– I panicked, I did not think clearly, the driver explained.
Dare not sign up
He parked the car outside the Furuset forum, and called his roommate. On the way home, they passed the accident site, where the emergency services were still working.
– I asked what had happened, but did not know anything, the defendant said in court.
A police officer who testified on Monday confirmed that he was contacted and had replied that there had been a traffic accident.
– I asked if the person knew anything about the case, to which he answered no, the police officer explained in court.
At home, the driver searched online to find news items about the accident.
– I was going to sign up, but did not dare, the accused explained.
– Should have stopped
Instead, he smoked a joint with hashish and ingested GHB, after laying down his two children. The drug test showed results, after the police came to the door at one o’clock at night.
Dhenujen Yogathas (13) died the next day from his injuries.
Assistance lawyer Silje Elisabeth Stenvaag asks if he could have done something different.
– What happened, happened. But I should have stopped, called an ambulance and the police, stayed on the scene and taken responsibility there and then. But I panicked.
The father of two says that he has quite often thought about what he could have done afterwards.
– It is heavy.
Requires compensation
During his explanation, the deceased Dhenujen Yogatha’s parents and older brother sit on the other side of the courtroom and look at him expressionlessly.
The assistance lawyer will, on their behalf, demand redress compensation and argue that the driver acted with gross negligence.
Only nine days before the fatal accident, the defendant had lost his driver’s license, when he tried to drive a car while under the influence of hashish and GHB.
Then he was found sleeping in the car, with vomit outside the car.
Still, he had driven to and from work. He took a phone call from the police for questioning after the driver’s license was seized, while he was on his way down to the garage to pick up Christmas presents.
The man admits criminal guilt for the less serious items in the indictment.
–
