Francisco M., one of the drivers accused in the deadly race on the M-30 in which an uninvolved driver died, did not appear at Wednesday’s session of the trial where he faces up to 15 years in prison. The events date back to July 25, 2021, when Francisco M., driving a BMW, and Rafa M., who was driving a Fiat, started a “race,” in the words of the prosecution, that led them to speeds exceeding the limit allowed in the tunnels of the M-30 in Madrid. In the race, Dr. Juan López died after the rear impact he received from the Fiat Punto. Both drivers were charged with López’s homicide and remained on provisional release until the trial began two weeks ago at the Provincial Court of Madrid.
The court hearing had proceeded normally until now, but this Wednesday, after two days without sessions, Francisco M., the one driving the BMW, did not appear. Due to his absence, the judicial authority sent security forces to look for him at his home, but they did not find him either. Thus, the judge issued a search and arrest warrant against the accused. For now, the sessions have been suspended pending his appearance, as the prosecution has refused to continue the process in the absence of one of the defendants.
“It was a surprise for me too. Yesterday I couldn’t contact him, but I didn’t imagine this. Over these years he has come to sign at the court punctually two days a month. We are waiting. He has always trusted in his acquittal because he has maintained his innocence,” said Francisco’s lawyer, Adriana Cutruna. “We trust that the police will find him and that we can finish the process normally,” Mario Argüelles, lawyer for the deceased’s parents, told EL PAÍS.
In five days, if there is no news about Francisco’s whereabouts before then, another hearing will be held to which the parties and the prosecution must attend to decide, under the judge’s presidency, how to proceed. There is a possibility that the jury will be dissolved and the process annulled or that it will continue without him, something that the lawyers and the Public Ministry are, in principle, not in favor of. “I am in favor of consensus and that all guarantees are given,” said Camilo Soler, lawyer for the other accused, in conversation with this newspaper.
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The two men face 15 years in prison for what the Public Ministry considers intentional homicide and reckless driving. The jury had to decide among the three scenarios proposed by the defenses and the prosecution. The BMW driver has always maintained that the Fiat Punto driver started a chase against his vehicle after the overtaking, and that he was only trying to escape. For his part, the other driver, through his lawyer, has stated that he is guilty of “serious negligence” and not “something intentional.” The prosecution and the accusations maintain that it was all a race between two drivers who “accepted and assumed the possibility that, as a consequence of that brutal driving, a catastrophic result could occur.”
In the last day of the trial, held last Friday, the experts from the municipal police accident investigation unit explained the measurements they had made about the speed the cars had reached based on security cameras, braking marks, and different traces found at the scene of the accident. With all these elements, the police pointed out that the vehicles could have exceeded 170 kilometers per hour on a 70 km/h road. The defense experts questioned these measurements and pointed out that there was no radar that recorded the speed indicated by the municipal agents in their conclusions.
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