A 35-year-old plumber is said to have tried to bring down another motorcyclist by pushing and kicking. The two then fought a fistfight on the street.
The act happened after the Gubrist tunnel.
A disastrous encounter between two motorcyclists in the Gubrist tunnel ended before the Dietikon District Court: On September 3, 2019, a 35-year-old KTM driver was overtaken on the right by a 58-year-old Suzuki driver in the motorway tunnel. The 35-year-old then followed the other, and both left the autobahn at the Weiningen entrance. The KTM driver is said to have pushed his opponent aside in an aggressive manner several times while driving, hitting him with his hands and kicking him. According to the indictment, he wanted to force the 58-year-old to stop and beat him up.
The KTM rider then kicked his opponent’s thigh at a speed of 30 to 40 km/h less than a leg’s length apart in order to bring him down. The two finally stopped on Zürcherstrasse in Weiningen, parked their motorcycles and – according to the indictment – fought on the street. The 35-year-old hit the Suzuki driver with his fists against his helmet and upper body, damaging his helmet and suffering a hematoma on his head.
The accused is silent in court
In the process before a Dietiker single judge, the 35-year-old plumber made no statements about the matter, as he did in the investigation. The public prosecutor has applied for a conditional prison sentence of nine months, a fine of 2,000 francs and instructions to complete the learning program “Training for risk-taking road users” because of endangering life, multiple gross violations of traffic rules and attempted coercion.
Originally, it was also investigated for simple bodily harm, assault and property damage. However, these are application offenses. The 58-year-old has withdrawn his corresponding criminal complaint.
The accused briefly explained in the courtroom how the withdrawal came about: He gave the Suzuki driver 2,000 francs and the matter was settled for him “among two adult men”. It was compensation for hitting the other. His helmet broke, and the 58-year-old then had to stay at home for a few days.
The 58-year-old has already been sentenced to a simple traffic violation due to his admitted overtaking and has accepted this.
The defense attorney for the KTM driver explains in his plea that the charges are mainly based on the statements made by the injured party. However, these are not formally usable at all because the defense was denied the right to inspect the files in his criminal investigation and he was therefore unable to exercise his right to ask questions.
In addition, the Suzuki driver was not credible, gave completely contradictory information and exaggerated, for example saying in the investigation: “I’ve been driving since birth and I know how to ride a motorcycle.” The accused had committed the criminal offenses of assault and property damage. But these are application offenses. Apart from that, nothing criminally relevant happened. The attorney wants a full acquittal.
testimonies of a motorist
However, the single judge sentenced the accused to a conditional fine of 180 daily rates of CHF 150 and a fine of CHF 1,000 for endangering life and multiple gross violations of traffic regulations. He refrains from issuing instructions. There are several partial acquittals: attempted coercion, being pushed aside, insufficient distance, failure to control the vehicle and a gross traffic violation by beating in the middle of the street. The statements of the injured party are credible, plausible and also formally usable, the judge explains.
The single judge explained that the danger to life was created by the accused’s insight into the payment of 2,000 francs in compensation and the testimony of a motorist driving behind the motorcycles. The passenger driver saw a kick. Although he was unable to testify which of the two motorcyclists kicked, given the overall circumstances, the court had no doubt that it must have been the KTM rider.
The judge shows absolutely no understanding for the behavior of the accused. It is clearly dangerous to life to give someone a kick that could cause them to fall and be run over by a following car. That’s just “low”. Even at speeds that are not so high, this can lead to bad situations. Despite the partial acquittal, the convicted person has to bear all court and procedural costs because his behavior caused the entire investigation.
Judgment GG220022 of August 29, 2022, not yet final.