The trial against the woman in her 20s took place in Møre og Romsdal district court last week. Prosecutor Magne Kvalvik then asked for a prison sentence of one year and ten months for negligent homicide and negligent driving. He believes that the woman acted grossly carelessly before the fatal accident and that her driving style had a great potential for damage. There he emphasized that the accident led to three deaths and four injuries, including himself. Now the court has concluded with a prison sentence of one year and eight months for the woman. She was also sentenced to lose her driving license forever and must pay NOK 170,000 in compensation to each of the seven relatives in the case. The woman did not appear in court today. According to the woman’s defense attorney, she is ill and cannot attend. The court believes that it has been proven both through the woman’s statement and the evidence presented in court that the woman acted with gross negligence. Collided inside tunnel It was 3 June 2022 that two cars collided inside the Blindheim tunnel on the E39. The tunnel is located approximately one mile from the center of Ålesund. There are two lanes in the tunnel and the speed limit is 70 kilometers per hour. In one car, a Suzuki Liana, sat three women who were on their way home from a summer show in Ålesund. Kirsti Nedregård (51), Kathrine Krogen (47) and Janice Karina Buen (49) all died from the injuries they sustained in the accident. The three friends were on their way home from a summer show when they died in a traffic accident. Photo: Private/montage In the other car, a Mercedes AMG, there were four people in their 20s. These were slightly to moderately injured. The woman in her 20s drove the car and was later charged with reckless homicide and reckless driving. The case was heard over two days in Møre and Romsdal District Court. The woman appeared there and pleaded guilty to the charges. She also agreed to pay compensation to the next of kin. Prosecutor Magne Kvalvik asked for a prison term of one year and ten months for the woman in her 20s. Photo: Remi Sagen / news The woman in her 20s was moved to tears several times as she explained herself. When asked by the prosecutor what she thought about the fact that she had caused three people to lose their lives, she replied: – It is absolutely horrible and something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Several witnesses also gave evidence during the trial. It was particularly emotional when a friend of the deceased, and the boyfriend of one of them, testified. Both had seats in the car home, but got off just before the fatal accident. – The world stopped when I heard about the accident. I checked if the message I had sent to my boyfriend had been opened, and it was still unread, explained the man. Clearly emotional, he asked the court to sentence the young driver harshly. He asked them to give a punishment which at the same time gives a clear signal, both to the defendant and other drivers, that driving at high speed has major consequences. Gas on inside the tunnel The police believe that the woman drove into the Blindheim Tunnel at a speed of over 90 kilometres. She must have then stepped on the gas, which caused her to lose control of the car and cross into the oncoming lane. The woman drove a white Mercedes that she borrowed from a friend. She had driven this once before. In court, a report from the Norwegian Road Administration on the speed of the cars was presented. Among other things, they had extracted data from the “black box” in the car that the woman in her 20s was driving. Tomasz Mleczko, chief engineer at the Norwegian Road Administration, has carried out investigations to find the speed of the cars involved in the accident. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news According to the report, the woman must have had a speed of 116 kilometers a second and a half before the collision. At that time, the car had started to skid and the gas pedal was not depressed. Chief engineer Tomasz Mleczko explained in court that there could be a small margin of error in the speed. On the other hand, he believed with certainty that the car, which the defendant was driving, had a speed of between 100 and 120 kilometers in collision speed. The oncoming car must have had a speed of between 55 and 75 kilometers in collision speed. In the collision, the car, in which the deceased were sitting, was thrown 2.64 meters into the tunnel wall. The car the woman in her 20s was driving was bigger and more powerful than the Suzuki she collided with. In the collision, the car, in which the deceased were sitting, was thrown 2.64 meters into the tunnel wall. It was marked inside the tunnel where the car hit the wall. Photo: Per-Ivar Kvalsvik / news Disagreement about accident ahead The police also believe that the woman in her 20s was involved in a near miss just before the fatal accident in the Blindheim tunnel. Then the woman is said to have driven her own car, a black Mercedes. The woman’s defense attorney, Reidar Andresen, however, said that there is not enough evidence that it was actually the woman’s car that was involved in this incident, or that she was the one who drove it. Reidar Andresen is the defender of the woman in her 20s. Photo: Remi Sagen / news
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Fatal accident in the Blindheim tunnel in Ålesund – woman in her 20s sentenced to prison – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
