Fatal Soroksári Road Crash: Court Remands 34-Year-Old Suspect in Custody
The Budapest Central District Court has remanded in custody until 5 October the repeat offender who allegedly caused a fatal traffic accident on Soroksári Road.
Soroksári Road Fatal Crash Suspect Remanded in Custody
The Budapest Central District Court remanded in custody on Saturday 34-year-old N. Ferenc, who is suspected of causing a fatal traffic accident in Budapest on the morning of 3 September – the Metropolitan Court announced, as cited by Telex.
The accident occurred at around 6 a.m. near Soroksári Road number 160. The man driving the Mitsubishi crossed into the opposite lane, where it collided head-on with a Ford. As a result of the collision, the Ford struck the roadside barrier and then a post blocking parking. The 62-year-old man driving the vehicle died at the scene; his passenger was taken to hospital with serious injuries. N. Ferenc and his passenger suffered minor injuries. A drug rapid test performed on the suspect yielded a positive result; authorities took him into custody on Friday.
Proceedings were initiated for the offence of causing death by driving whilst intoxicated. The court ordered remand in custody until the hearing of first instance or at the latest until 5 October. The order is not final: the suspect and his defence counsel have appealed against it.
The prosecution requested remand citing the risk of flight and reoffending, which the court deemed well-founded. According to the reasoning, the possible custodial sentence ranging from two to eight years in itself increases the risk of flight. N. Ferenc has previously been convicted on several occasions of offences related to narcotics.
The court particularly emphasised that neither his previous convictions nor ongoing misdemeanour and criminal proceedings had prevented the suspect from committing further offences. Only just over four months after the expiry of conditional release and barely a week after the cessation of a coercive measure applied in parallel criminal proceedings did he again become justifiably subject to suspicion.
According to the court's findings, N. Ferenc deliberately disregards the law and traffic regulations; his conduct poses an increased danger to the life and bodily integrity of other road users. The court held that if released on bail, he would reoffend and commit acts punishable by custodial sentence.
Source: Telex