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Pensioner to stand trial over boat accident death

A 77-year-old man is to appear in court charged with the negligent manslaughter of a young woman killed by a motorboat on Lake Biel in 2010.

Pensioner to stand trial over boat accident death
The fatal accident happened on Lake Biel near the St Peter Island. Photo: Google Maps

Local newspapers reported on Friday that the former businessman and luxury motorboat owner would appear in court in Biel in October.

The regional prosecutor’s office holds the pensioner responsible for the death of the 24-year-old whose legs were severed by the boat’s propeller.

The accident happened on July 11th 2010 towards evening. The woman and her partner were in a rubber dinghy returning to Lüscherz in Bern from the St Peter Island – a local beauty spot.

Prosecutors claims that the man steering the motorboat overlooked the dinghy, coming too close to it and thereby causing the accident.

The woman and her partner jumped into the water when it appeared their dinghy would be hit by the boat. She was struck by the propeller and died of her injuries.

The woman’s partner was uninjured.

The motorboat is said to have continued on its course without stopping.

The pensioner has denied causing the accident. He and his two companions on the motorboat are reported to have said they did not notice anything.

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