Trial begins of driver accused of forcing other car off Czech motorway

Luboš Lacina, photo: CTK

The trial has begun in Prague of a man accused of deliberately forcing another driver off a busy Czech motorway. The car of the alleged victim, which had been travelling at more than 100 km an hour, rolled over several times before hitting a tree. Video footage of the incident shocked many people in the Czech Republic, and has been watched hundreds of thousands of times on the internet.

Luboš Lacina,  photo: CTK
Luboš Lacina was travelling on the main motorway between Prague and Brno on March 22 this year when he evidently became frustrated that his Škoda Superb was stuck behind a Mazda that was overtaking a truck.

Once the Mazda, which was being driven by a 26-year-old woman, had passed the lorry Mr Lacina drove his Superb alongside the other vehicle before suddenly cutting into the outside lane and across its path, forcing it right off the road.

The Mazda, which was travelling at around 130 km an hour, turned over several times before coming to a halt when it hit a tree. Neither the driver nor a passenger was seriously injured in the crash, though police said they could have been killed.

Mr Lacina, who had himself called the emergency services reporting that he had seen an accident, was arrested and charged in early April.

A recording of the incident filmed on motorway cameras was shown on all the main Czech TV stations and the driver was soon dubbed a “pirate of the roads”, and worse. The video also appeared on Youtube under the title “Horrible international car crash”; to date it has been watched over 300,000 times.

D1 motorway
In court on Thursday Mr Lacina, who has voluntarily paid for part of the damages to the Mazda, again asserted that the whole thing had been an accident. He said the other driver had panicked when he made a sudden manoeuvre and driven off the road herself. There have been suggestions that might not square with the Mazda passenger’s claim that the Superb driver had shouted at the two and raised his middle finger prior to the incident.

If found guilty of causing bodily harm and damage to property, Mr Lacina could receive a prison term of up to 12 years.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncaIHV5OWWU