In January and March this year, several trees fell over the road in Kinn municipality in Vestland. Some of them on a national road between Førde and Florø. Two cars drove into third. A total of 11 people were involved. The police have said that it could have resulted in death. Four men in their 20s are accused in the case, which was concluded in Sogn og Fjordane District Court on Friday. They have all pleaded guilty and said they are sorry. THREE IN THE ROAD: This is how national highway 5 between Førde and Florø looked in March this year. Photo: The police thought it was nonsense Rakel Hovland Øren and her friends were in the first car that crashed. They were on their way home from a party when they crashed into the tree. She tells news that she remembers the incident as dramatic. The first seconds afterwards were chaotic. – Then I heard someone say in the background: Someone has cut down the tree on purpose. And I thought: No, they haven’t. It’s just nonsense. And then it turned out to be true. Then I thought: Who has done it? Today, she is happy that she and the others involved are alive. – We were very lucky. It would turn out that one of those who had taken part in the tree felling was a friend of Rakel’s family. Rakel Hovland Øren describes the first time after the incident as chaotic, where it was unclear what had happened. Photo: Preben Nedreberg Holmøy / news Shortly after the incident, the doorbell rang at her home. One of the now indicted men was there, together with his parents. – He apologized and seemed genuinely sorry. I thought he was about to cry, she says. It is something she appreciated today, while the case is being heard in Sogn og Fjordane district court. – It wasn’t like he was told to say sorry. It seemed that he was genuinely sorry for what he had done. – Meaningless game In court, the prosecutor asked for imprisonment without conditions for all four defendants, up to one year and one month at the most. – I would call it a meaningless game with other people’s lives and health, which could have gone completely wrong, said prosecutor Erling Melvær in his proceedings. One of the trees covered almost the entire national highway. Several trees had been cut and fallen across the road. The police quickly believed that someone had cut and felled the tree on purpose. No one was seriously injured when the two cars crashed into the tree, but it could have had a fatal outcome , the police said. The driver of the first passenger car that crashed into the tree explained himself in court on Friday. There were five passengers in the car. He said that several of the passengers were in shock, crying and screaming after the incident. They were taken to hospital, but no one was seriously injured. This is what one of the cars looked like after crashing into the tree. Photo: The police Nightmares and physical problems The vehicle was so badly damaged that it had to be scrapped. The driver says that he struggled with nightmares for several months after the incident and gradually got back pain. About three to five minutes after the first car crashed, the next car came and crashed into the tree trunk. The driver of the first car testified: – There was such a loud bang that we thought they were not going to be alive. The two drivers have explained that they kept below or within the speed limit. The driver of the other car talks about fear of driving in the time after the incident, nightmares and physical problems. – I have thought a lot about why they did what they did. I hope they get a punishment that makes them learn, he says to news. Bored and had a chainsaw in the car The day before, Thursday, one of the defendants said that he did not have a good enough explanation for why they did it. He explained that they were out driving a car and that there happened to be a chainsaw in the car, which they wanted to test. They wanted to see how people reacted when there was suddenly a tree in the road, he explained. The last defendant in the case from January explained himself today. – We were bored, he said. They cut down several trees in addition to a guard post. In court, he explained that the aim was never to hurt anyone. The police released a photo of one of the accident cars on Friday. Photo: Police Ask for community punishment Bente Hermansen defends one of the men. She says they want the court to look at the options for community punishment and prison terms. – We think there are good reasons for that, but understand that the prosecutor does not agree and wants to go to prison without conditions for all the defendants, which we think is very strict. The prosecutor disagrees with that, and thinks the case appears too serious for a community penalty to be imposed. In March this year, six men were charged with murder for a similar incident in Denmark, where a 55-year-old man died when a tree fell on his car near Sorø in South Zealand. Published 22.11.2024, at 11.06 Updated 22.11.2024, at 18.34
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Last day in court where four men are accused of felling trees across the road in Kinn municipality – news Vestland
