Judgment in the case of Paweł Kozanecki, a lawyer who spoke about “coffins on wheels”

A sentence was passed before the District Court in Olsztyn in the case of patron Paweł Kozanecki, accused of causing an accident in which two women were killed. After the accident, he said that “it was a confrontation of a safe car with a casket on wheels.” A well-known Lodz lawyer was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a 5-year driving ban. The prosecutor's office demanded a five -year prison sentence for him. The defenders requested acquittal.

On September 26, 2022, patron Paweł Kozanecki (he agreed to give a surname and presentation of the image) he sat behind the wheel of a passenger Mercedes, who collided head -on with Audi coming from the opposite direction. Audi rode two women aged 53 and 67, both were killed. That afternoon they set off to visit the family (children of dead women are married).

The patron, who was sober at the time of the accident, came out of the incident without major injuries. However, trace amounts of cocaine were found in his body. He traveled with his wife and son.

On Friday, the District Court in Olsztyn announced a verdict. Paweł Kozanecki was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a 5-year driving ban. The verdict is unlawful.

Read also: “Are you sure you have nothing to add?” “No, nothing”. A patron who shocked the country

The prosecutor demanded five years in prison for the accused and from 5 to 50 thousand. PLN compensation for seven family members of deceased women. He also applied for depriving a known lawyer to drive motor vehicles for 10 years.

The defense wanted to acquit. The accused does not admit to committing the alleged act.

A tragedy on the road and shocking words about the “casket”

The indictment against the lawyer went to court in September 2022. Investigators accused the patron Paweł Kozanecki of the fact that on September 26, 2021 on the Barczewo – Jeziorany route, driving a Mercedes vehicle, he deliberately violated the rules of safety in land traffic, by crossing the double continuous line determining the road axis, entering the lane intended for moving vehicles in the opposite direction.

– as a result, it unintentionally led to causing road accidentcolliding with the Audi 80 vehicle driving correctly, as a result of which the driver and passenger Audi died at the scene – donated Daniel Brodowski from the District Prosecutor's Office in Olsztyn.

The case became loud after the lawyer posted a film on the internet in which he stated that the women from Audi were killed because “they rode a casket on wheels.” The lawyer advised that it was better to collect or borrow for a better car.

“Everyone says that excessive speed, that bravado, that cell phones, that drunk drivers. But we forget about it, my dear, that our roads are moving on wheels. It was a confrontation of a safe car with a casket on wheels. And that's why these women were killed” – said Kozanecki in the recording.

Read also: He talked about “coffins on wheels”, he again lost his right to practice

Emotions during the final speech

Prosecutor Arkadiusz Szulc from the District Prosecutor's Office in Olsztyn in the final speech said that the accident occurred, because the accused did not focus on watching the road. “You can have expensive,” packed in electronics car “, but this does not slow down the driver from attentive driving,” he said. He pointed out that the accused was a person addicted to social media and this behavior after this event should be relevant to the sentence or penalty.

The public prosecutor said that for the first time he met with a case for the accused to publish a film with such a negative tone.

“He is not interested in the feelings of the victims. Even these apologies are influencer. The accused is a lawyer, father, and all behavior after the accident shows that we are dealing with a person who seems to be 13 years old and did not understand the consequences of his actions” – the prosecutor said in the final speech.

The defenders of the accused in the final speeches alleged that in the proceedings no sufficient, exhausting evidence was collected and electronic evidence from the accused's car was not fully examined.