The 30-year-old admitted on Tuesday in a Coimbra court that he ran over another man in October 2019 after fleeing police, stressing that he was trying to “brake” to avoid a collision.
The alleged crime took place on October 4, 2019, when a young man, a locksmith from Coimbra, was charged with qualified murder, dangerous driving and kidnapping.
At the beginning of the trial, the defendant admitted that he noticed the pedestrian after he “turned in a roundabout”, and noted that he hit the right front of the car on a person.
“I tried to stop, but I couldn’t,” he said.
According to the prosecution, at about 2 am, the young man drove his car, a black Honda Civic, to Rua Pedro Olaio, near Loja do Cidadão, in Coimbra, where he met a friend.
An hour later, a PSP team arrived at the scene, at which time the defendant was using cocaine in the car.
When the police were “already about to leave the scene, the defendant locked the car doors and turned it on”, and his friend asked him what he was doing.
“I was shocked that I closed the doors and everything started,” a friend of the young man said in court.
According to the prosecution, the defendant immediately started the car, against the will of his friend, who asked him to get out of the car.
“I always asked [para sair do carro]”, he said in court.
The PSP agents went to the car with orders to stop, but the man ignored him and ended up running towards Avenida Fernão de Magalhães in Coimbra.
Two other agents started a car chase after the defendant, who was already driving towards Casa do Sal, always at high speed and ignoring the “panic” cries of his friend, who kept asking him to let her out of the car.
The young man this Tuesday in court confirmed that his friend “asked him to stop,” but ignored her request.
The defendant confessed that he was under the influence of alcohol, which he drank at dinner, and under the influence of drugs, in particular cocaine, which he consumed in the car.
Shortly after the roundabout, where Avenida Fernão de Magalhães and Rua Padre Estêvão Cabral intersect, a man was crossing the road on foot and the young man collided with the right front of the car with a pedestrian who was thrown forward and killed. site with multiple injuries.
The girlfriend of the young man, who was in the car against her will, heard in court, said that she warned about the presence of a pedestrian in front of the roundabout, but does not remember if there was a brake or any detour maneuver.
According to prosecutors, after the accident, the defendant continued to march to Coimbra B station with the intention of leaving the car in the area and reporting it as stolen.
The defendant then decided to continue his escape and was eventually intercepted by PSP agents near the access road to Loreto when they ordered the car to be turned off over the loudspeaker and stopped at the side of the road.
The young man eventually complied with the order, but only for a few seconds, again starting to escape.
Near the Ademia football field, the defendant did the same again when another officer asked him to stop the car.
After he left his friend at home, he was intercepted by PSP officers at around 4:00 am near his home.
The indictment mentions that the presence of cocaine was found in the blood, as well as a blood alcohol level of 1.64 grams per liter.