Dispute escalates in the parking lot Shopping tourist hits opponent with car - new verdict in Aargau

A dispute between two shopping tourists at customs escalated when one of them hit the other with his car. Now the Aargau High Court has once again handed down a verdict.

In autumn 2020, a dispute between two shopping tourists escalated in front of the German customs building in Bad Säckingen at the border crossing to Stein AG.

After the men clashed while stamping their export licenses, one of them hit his opponent in a nearby snack bar parking lot at around 30 km/h. His wife and two children were also in the car of the man, who was in his early 50s at the time, reports the "Aargauer Zeitung".

The incident resulted in serious injuries to the victim, a German man in his mid-50s at the time who lives in Aargau. The doctor treating him estimated a permanent disability of 40 percent. In the

Controversial evidence

The case went through several judicial instances. The Rheinfelden district court initially acquitted the defendant as it did not consider the evidence to be usable. The defendant had been identified by the Automatic Vehicle Investigation and Traffic Monitoring (AFV). The district court denied the usability of the recordings that had brought the defendant to the attention of the criminal authorities.

The High Court overturned this ruling in summer 2023, sentencing the man to a partial prison term of two and a half years and a conditional fine for attempted grievous bodily harm and failure to render assistance.

In June 2024, the Federal Supreme Court confirmed the usability of the AFV recordings despite the intensive interference with personal freedom, as the seriousness of the offense justified this. However, it overturned the conviction for failing to provide emergency assistance, as this was to be regarded as a non-punishable subsequent offense. The intent to cause grievous bodily harm included the intent to refrain from rendering assistance.

High court follows federal court

The High Court has now ruled again. It followed the instructions of the Federal Supreme Court and overturned the conviction for failure to render emergency assistance and the associated fine.

However, the conviction for attempted grievous bodily harm and the prison sentence of two and a half years remain in place. The High Court was only allowed to deal with the points overturned by the Federal Supreme Court, while the other parts of the judgment remained unchanged.

The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.