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CRIME

Böhse Onkelz singer on trial for drugged-up hit-and-run

Kevin Russell, the former singer of the German hard rock band Böhse Onkelz, faces a Frankfurt court Friday after allegedly taking drugs on New Year’s Eve 2009, seriously injuring two people in a high speed crash and then fleeing the scene.

Böhse Onkelz singer on trial for drugged-up hit-and-run
Photo: DPA

The 46-year-old stands accused of getting high on cocaine and methadone before getting behind the wheel and ramming a small car while driving some 230 kilometres per hour. Two young men in the other car suffered severe injuries and will appear as joint plaintiffs in the case.

Russell, who has previous convictions, denies that he caused the accident, but state prosecutors found his DNA traces on the sports car air bag. Other evidence against him includes security camera footage of Russell shopping at a nearby motorway gas station just minutes before the accident.

The musician faces charges of negligent bodily harm, reckless driving and fleeing the scene of an accident.

The Frankfurt court plans to deliberate for six days.

The band Böhse Onkelz, a misspelling of the colloquial phrase “bad uncles,” was together from 1980 to 2005. Their musical style has changed through the years from punk, to Ska to heavy metal.

He was born in Hamburg to a German mother and a British pilot for German airline Lufthansa.

DAPD/DPA/ka

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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