– Before I start my explanation, I just want to say sorry. I feel very much with Emma’s friends and family. And had I had the opportunity, I would have done anything to avoid this. That is what a woman in her 20s said in Haugaland and Sunnhordland district court today. She is accused of negligent car murder of 18-year-old Emma Weberg Kaldestad, who lost her life in a traffic jam in Matre in Kvinnherad in July 2021. The car the woman was driving came across in the opposite lane on a narrow western road this evening. The friend came on a scooter. The collision was so powerful that the scooter was split in two. The car was also badly damaged. The 18-year-old was declared dead in the city. DIVIDED IN TWO: The collision was so powerful that the scooter was split in two. The car was also badly damaged. Photo: Police / Olav Røli / NRK – I immediately saw who it was The court today heard how an otherwise nice July day for a young woman, abruptly changed character. She was on her way through a tunnel when she heard a beep in the air conditioner. She tried to turn it off, but could not find the button properly. Then she took her attention away from the road, and towards the dashboard for a second. – I remember I looked up, and that I tried to brake. So small it. The prosecution thinks my woman did not follow well enough, and that she drove at over 90 kilometers per hour before the accident. The speed limit in the city is 80 kilometers per hour. – We think she is to blame for the accident, says prosecutor Ørjan Ogne. SAD AND TRAGIC: Police attorney Ørjan Ogne characterizes the case as sad and tragic. At the same time, they think the woman is to blame for the accident. Photo: Olav Røli / NRK The woman pleads guilty after the indictment, also for driving over the speed limit. In court, the woman explained that she jumped out of the car and saw a person lying critically injured in the road. “I saw at once who it was,” she said in court. The woman had collided with her best friend. One of the last things the accused is doing in the city of the accident is to find his friend’s mobile phone and call 113. DEATH: Emma Weberg Kaldestad (18) lost her life in the traffic accident in Kvinnherad last summer. Photo: Private Three courtrooms taken into use Many members had taken the trip to the trial in Stord this day. As many as three courtrooms had to be used to accommodate everyone. Fifteen veins from Kvinnherad were among them. – I’m here to get all the information. To see what actually happened, says her friend Frida Kaldestad. She says that she has become more scared when she is sitting with someone or driving a car herself after the fatal accident. – I hope that people understand how fast it can happen, and that they pay more attention when they are on the road. MORE AFRAID: Frida Kallestad says that she will see the trial to get all the information and show support for Emma’s family. She has become more scared in traffic after the accident. Photo: Olav Røli / NRK In court, the accused woman was asked how she felt after the accident. She started by saying that her pain could not be measured by how the victim’s parents felt. At the same time, she acknowledged that the day after the accident has been tough. She thanks family and friends for getting her out of the house afterwards. – Many days I just wanted to lie in bed, and just getting to the shower was a challenge, she said. Get rid of the trial Assistance lawyer Arild Birkeland represents the parents of the girl who lost her life in the scooter accident last summer. He says the parents have settled for the trial, but that it is going better than they had expected. – It is of course difficult for them to be present. It is difficult, but it is less difficult than what they had feared, says Birkeland. That the friend declared criminal guilt means a lot to the parents. – They have always had a hope that it will happen. The fact that she has admitted criminal guilt makes it easier for them to be present here, and hopefully in the future, says Birkeland.
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Admits criminal guilt after fatal accident in Kvinnherad – NRK Vestland
