A 26-year-old Austrian man is accused of ramming a sailing boat with his motorboat on Lake Constance. According to several Austrian media reports, the charge is conditional premeditated murder. The accused did not necessarily want the victim's death, but had condoned it. He now faces up to 20 years in prison or even life imprisonment.
From accusation of negligence to suspicion of murder
The 26-year-old had already had to answer to the Feldkirch Regional Court on 21 April. We had reported on this. At the time, the charges were gross negligence manslaughter, negligent bodily harm and endangering physical safety. The sentence was between three months and three years in prison.
During the trial, however, the defendant insisted that he had only seen the sailing boat after the collision, although he claimed to have had the lake in view the whole time. An expert witness vehemently contradicted this account. He stated that the sailing boat must have been visible. The judge then expressed the suspicion that it could no longer be a case of involuntary manslaughter, but conditional intent to murder. A jury court would therefore be responsible. She pronounced a judgement of lack of jurisdiction.
The accident history from October 2025
The serious collision took place on 11 October 2025, three kilometres off Fußach in the district of Bregenz and therefore on the Austrian part of Lake Constance. The 26-year-old defendant was travelling on his motorboat with three other people. According to the expert report, the boat collided at high speed with the sailing boat of a German couple from the district of Günzburg.
The 57-year-old female sailor was seriously injured and fell into the water. Despite immediate first aid and resuscitation measures, she died at the scene of the accident. Her husband saved himself by jumping into the water shortly before the collision. He suffered several bruises and a severe shock. The sailing boat was completely destroyed in the collision.
The weather and wind conditions were excellent at the time of the accident. The sailboat had a sail area of 24 square metres.
Contradictory statements in court
In court, the statements of the accused and the assessments of the public prosecutor's office and the expert differed widely. The public prosecutor and the expert stated that the motorboat was travelling at 60 kilometres per hour. The maximum permitted speed on Lake Constance is 40 kilometres per hour. The public prosecutor accused the man of not having had a sufficient view of the lake area. The surviving sailor reported that he and his wife had shouted and waved, but the motorboat had continued to sail directly towards them. No one was seen on the motorboat. Shortly after the accident, the maritime police stated that the sailing boat could have been recognised in good time in the prevailing conditions.
Defendant sticks to his version
The 26-year-old admitted in court that he had caused the accident, but denied that he had been speeding. He stated that he had been travelling at 30 to 35 kilometres per hour. The accused explained that he had not seen the sailing boat, although he had been looking ahead. He had brought his motorboat into planing speed and then set course for Konstanz.
He had not even seen the sailing boat during the collision. When asked how he could have missed the sailboat, he replied that he had no explanation. The three passengers also confirmed the defendant's account. One of the witnesses was sitting next to the defendant and stated that they had spoken to each other and made eye contact, but had also always observed the sea area. It was also a mystery to him how they could have overlooked the boat.
Reasons for the judgement of lack of jurisdiction
The judge based her judgement of lack of jurisdiction on the defendant's statements. She stated that he had observed the lake for a period of six minutes and had sailed directly towards a sailing boat with a rigged sail area without reacting. Since, in her opinion, conditional premeditation could therefore be assumed, the case would have to go before a jury; there was an initial suspicion of conditional premeditated murder.
According to Austrian law, the offence of conditionally intentional murder is fulfilled if the perpetrator does not necessarily intend the death of another person, but recognises it as a possible consequence of his actions and accepts it.
The murder charge that has now been brought is not yet final and could still be contested. If this does not happen, it will probably be several months before he goes to trial before a jury.
More about the accident:
Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
