Reduced sentence sought in Spain for fatal hit-and-run driver as he was rushing his baby daughter to hospital

The public prosecutor's office in Vizcaya has resorted to an unusual approach to try to achieve justice in a tragic case. A pedestrian walking along the Paseo de la Ría (the river promenade) in the Deusto district of Bilbao was killed when he was struck by a speeding car that had mounted the pavement. The driver was taking his 14-month-old daughter to the accident and emergency department because he thought she was dying. Given this exceptional circumstance, the public prosecutor's office is requesting in its preliminary charges that the sentence be reduced and that the driver be granted a "partial defence" based on "necessity". An example where mitigating circumstances are typically used in legal proceedings are for mentally ill persons who were not deemed responsible for their actions because they were in the midst of a psychotic break.

The prosecutor understands that the driver acted unlawfully, but because he was overwhelmed by the situation. Therefore, the prosecutor is asking for two years' imprisonment for the offence of reckless driving due to excessive speed, in conjunction with involuntary vehicular manslaughter.

According to the incident report included in the prosecution's preliminary charges, the hit-and-run took place on 4 September 2022. The driver, now 32 years old, left his home in Loiu with his wife and 14-month-old daughter to take her to the IMQ clinic in Zorrozaurre, Bilbao. The little girl was ill, with a high fever.

The driver got behind the wheel of a black BMW X6 with the owner's permission. During the approximately 15-minute drive from Loiu to Bilbao, just as they were crossing Avenida Enekuri, "the little girl's condition deteriorated significantly and she began to convulse, so her mother moved to the back seat to take her in her arms". "She was having difficulty breathing, was pale and had an upward gaze (an involuntary, upward rolling of the eyes)", states the prosecution's report.

The accused saw his daughter in the rear-view mirror and therefore "deduced that her condition was extremely serious and that she required urgent medical attention". So, to reach the medical centre as quickly as possible, the driver stepped on the accelerator until he was speeding at 195.5 kilometres per hour in the Enekuri area. Inside the Bernaola tunnel, where the maximum speed limit is 60 km/h, he was travelling at 189.40 km/h. Then, on Calle Morgan, a section with a 30 km/h speed limit, he never dropped below 100 km/h.

The driver "endangered the safety of other road users" by failing "to observe the most elementary rules of care", according to the prosecutor's office. Inside the viaduct, he overtook at high speed a van that was stationary in the right-hand lane, crossing the median separating the two-way traffic. Once out of the tunnel, he slowed down, but could not prevent the vehicle from swinging out as he rounded a left-hand bend, ultimately ending up in a raised, landscaped area.

The BMW literally flew through the air and "all four wheels completely left the ground", is the vivid description in the report. It then hit a bush and a lamp-post before landing in the pedestrianised area of Calle Ballets Olaeta, where several people were walking at that hour, including 57-year-old Joseba Larrondo. Several pedestrians "managed to flee from the path of the oncoming vehicle", but Larrondo took a direct hit from the car. After the accident, the driver picked up his daughter and took her to the hospital, where he reported the incident.

The deceased had been leaving the Bilbao Athletic match at San Mamés stadium, one of his great passions, with two friends, one of whom dodged the BMW. The victim suffered a severe head trauma that caused his death in a matter of minutes. He was single and had no children. His mother and sister have appeared in the legal proceedings.

The prosecutor is also requesting a 2.5-year driving ban and 6,200 euros in compensation on behalf of Bilbao city council for damage to street furniture.