SecondOn June 19, at the first hearing of the Brescia court on the fatal ship accident on Lake Garda, the main defendant apologized to the relatives of the two victims on Wednesday morning. As reported by the Italian media, the 52-year-old Munich Patrick K. turned to the relatives of Greta N. and Umberto G after a one-hour hearing on technical issues related to the process and said the following: “Please Forgive and accept their criticism. We want to get in touch with you in person or through a letter on the first day, but we were told that it is not the right time. I am not soulless. I have not been able to sleep for months. “
Patrick K. was under house arrest in Brescia for negligent homicide and failure to provide assistance. He and his wife attended the court hearing. Christian T., the second defendant who owned the unfortunate Riva ship, did not appear on Wednesday’s trial date. Patrick K. had admitted in an earlier interrogation that he drove a motorboat late at night on June 19 when it collided with two Italians at very high speed.
The victim has little chance of survival
The body of 37-year-old Umberto G. was not found on an abandoned wooden boat floating on the lake until the morning after the accident. According to the coroner’s investigation, he died on the spot. 25-year-old Greta N. was seriously injured in the collision and was thrown out of the ship to drown. Her body was salvaged by divers at a depth of nearly 100 meters at the bottom of Lake Garda. According to the findings of the coroner’s investigation, Greta N. was also seriously injured in the impact. Even if she was rescued quickly, she had little chance of survival.
The accident caused great anger in Lake Garda and throughout Italy. In particular, the fact that the two suspects were released after the first interrogation and immediately returned to Bavaria is even more exciting. Soon after the international arrest warrant was issued on July 5, the captain Patrick K. surrendered to the Italian authorities at the Brenner border crossing. Since then, he has been under house arrest near Brescia. The judge set the next trial date as December 16. Christian T., the second defendant, should also attend the appointment.
Millions of compensation
According to Italian media reports, before the start of the lawsuit, the insurance company of the owner Christian T. and the boatman Patrick K. had paid compensation to the relatives of the victims. Greta N.’s family received 2.5 million euros in payment, while Umberto G.’s survivors received 1.3 million euros. Italian media previously reported that the cumulative amount of claims reached 9 million. After the compensation was paid, the relatives of the two victims withdrew from the proceedings as co-plaintiffs. The municipalities of Salò and Montana del Garda continue to appear as co-plaintiffs in the proceedings. Since the prosecution and defense have agreed to start the trial immediately, it is expected that the trial will end quickly.
Surveillance camera records played an important role in obtaining evidence. The photos taken at the time of the collision around 11:30 in the evening showed that the motorboat approached at high speed, hitting the well-lit vessel with all its strength, skipping it and continuing unabated. Later photos of the pier showed that two Munich men berthed after a night ride on the ship. The two men apparently stumbled due to alcoholism, and one of the two even fell into the water. In the first interrogation, the two said that they had not noticed anything about the collision with the wooden boat, but assumed that they had collided with the driftwood. A few days after the accident, given that the suspect had left Bavaria, Greta N.’s father told a TV station: “This is really indescribable. Even animals don’t do that.”
