Death crash: 155 mph driver guilty
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Fischer had denied any involvement in the high-speed crash.
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KARLSRUHE, Germany (AP) -- A DaimlerChrysler test engineer has been found guilty of high-speed tailgating that caused a German motorway crash in which a mother and her two-year-old daughter died, and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The trial of Rolf Fischer, 34, has made headlines in Germany, where autobahns have no general speed limit and impatient drivers who flash their headlights and tailgate slower cars are common.
A court in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe convicted him Wednesday of negligent manslaughter and endangering traffic in the July 14 crash. It withdrew his driver's license for an additional 18 months. Fischer has denied being at the scene when the crash happened.
Based on witness accounts, prosecutors said Fischer was speeding down a highway between the western cities of Esslingen and Papenberg in a company-owned Mercedes Benz CL 600 at up to 250 kilometers an hour (155 mph) when he tried to overtake a Kia car on the far left shoulder.
The 21-year-old driver lost control of her car after swerving to avoid the Mercedes, spun across two lanes and smashed into a bank of trees.
"When an accident happens because of reckless overtaking, it is not a petty offense," presiding Judge Brigitte Hecking said in explaining the sentence.
Testimony from four witnesses who were close to the scene and immediately called police satisfied the court that Fischer was the driver, she said.
Fischer showed no reaction as the sentence was announced.
Wooden crosses mark the spot where the mother and her daughter died.
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His lawyers have called for acquittal and said they would appeal. The driver remains free pending the outcome of the appeal, and left the court through a side entrance without commenting.
Fischer said when his trial opened last week that he was nowhere the scene of the crash, testifying that "I didn't tailgate and didn't see any kind of accident."
Prosecutors had sought a 21-month prison sentence. However, they dropped a further charge of fleeing the scene, saying they were unable to prove that the defendant saw the woman's car swerve in his rearview mirror.
DaimlerChrysler spokeswoman Nicole Ladage said the automaker planned to dismiss Fischer, arguing that he violated company regulations that commit its employees to obeying traffic rules.
Investigators last summer investigated about 900 tips from potential witnesses and checked more than 700 Mercedes that matched the description of the car before charging Fischer.
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