The driver who rammed a GNR patrol car signaling ongoing work on the Northern Motorway (A1), killing two soldiers – Carlos Pereira, 27, and Vanya Martins, 31 – who were inside, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment. and six months in prison. The Santarem court found the defendant, a 70-year-old pensioner, guilty of two counts of murder by gross negligence and decided not to suspend the sentence due to the elderly man’s “impenitence” and “manifest irresponsibility.”
The incident occurred on July 7, 2020, when a man was driving on the A1 motorway in the area of Pernes, municipality of Santarem, at a speed of approximately 154 to 180 km/h, passing through an area where cleaning work was taking place. Maintenance areas and areas are properly marked with signs and warnings to reduce speed to 80 km/h. A GNR car was moving along the side of the road at a very slow speed, where the accused, who did not even hear his wife’s warning to brake, collided with great force, dragging the car 53 meters.
Inside were guards Carlos Pereira, who was to become a father and died the next day, and Vania Martins, who died six days after the accident, which the Santarem court said was “solely due to the complete inattention” of the elderly. a man who didn’t even slow down or obey the signs before the 85th km of the A1 highway.
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In his sentencing, the judge said the man showed no “sensitivity, empathy or remorse” about the incident, attempting to justify the accident as being due to a “momentary loss of consciousness” while he was driving.
Traveling with my wife and daughter-in-law
The driver was driving a BMW from Cinfines do Douro, where he is from, to Amadora, where he lives, with his wife and sister-in-law, who escaped the accident unharmed.
Author: João Nuno Pepino
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.