Joshua Parfitt
A YOUNG man responsible for the first fatality involving an electric scooter in Spain is set to face a fine, not prison.
The 19-year-old, named only Alexi, killed a 90-year-old woman in the Catalan town of Esplugues de Llobregat while she was out with her walker in a pedestrianised area in August last year.
The woman, named Berta, was heading back home after a morning stroll when she was hit from behind by an electric scooter carrying two people.
Berta fell and hit her head against the pavement. She suffered internal bleeding and died later in Moisès Broggi Hospital.
Alexi, 19, will face trial for minor recklessness, according to El Pais.
According to the public prosecutor, the young man was looking at his cellphone when he ran into the 90-year-old, which is the basis of the recklessness charge.
However, ‘minor recklessness’ is an intermediary category between a minor and serious crime.
Its penalty for someone who ‘through minor recklessness causes the death of another’ is the payment of a fine for between ‘three and 18 months’.
Alexi was travelling less than 10kmh/h when the collision happened, which reportedly led to the ‘minor’ severity of the charge.
Alexi tried to save Berta after he hit her and in the following days went back to the Rambla del Carme to look for Berta’s relatives and ask them for forgiveness.
Berta was a widow and did not have any children, which rules out the possibility of awarding damages to her relatives.
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