A court on Tuesday sentenced the driver of a lorry that killed a German policewoman to three years in prison, local media reported on Tuesday.
The court found him guilty of manslaughter and causing serious bodily harm by negligence.
“The now 49-year-old was drunk when the accident took place in December 2017, killing the 23-year-old police officer and leaving two other officers injured,’’ judges found.
The lorry driver drove into the car on the hard shoulder of the A61 motorway in western Germany, near the town of Viersen and just north of the city of Moenchengladbach.
Police said at the time that an alcohol test showed the driver had a blood-alcohol level four times the legal driving limit in Germany.
The driver’s defence team, given that he was under the influence of alcohol, argued he should be given a suspended sentence due to diminished responsibility.
The judges presiding over the trial rejected the defence’s request, but acknowledged that the driver, a Ukrainian national, showed “sincere remorse.’’
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