Finland’s Ilta-Sanomat newspaper, one of the biggest in the country, is reporting that the police investigation into the accident that resulted in the death of a friend of former F1 driver JJ Lehto has concluded that Lehto was at the controls of the boat when it hit a bridge last summer, while travelling at high speed in a narrow canal.
The police are making no comment about the reports, saying that the investigation will be completed in the spring after which the official report into the accident will be sent to the prosecution service, which will decide whether to charge Lehto. He has told the police that he cannot remember whether he was driving the boat when the accident occurred. The driver’s side of the boat was relatively undamaged in the crash, but the passenger’s side was destroyed.
There has been speculation that Lehto could be facing manslaughter charges.
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How does one forget who is driving the vessel when an accident occurs?
@Scott Bloom
I’d say smashing into a bridge while driving a speedboat was a pretty good way to lose some memory
I think the police have it difficult to prove that Jyrki Järvilehto was operating the boat at the time of the accident.
It is entirely plausible that Järvilehto can’t remember what happened. So the police may have to rely entirely on technical evidence to prove their case.
And it looks like they don’t have much of technical evidence – or at least what has been speculated in the public does not look like strong evidence to me.
Saying the boat was destroyed from the other side only is not proof beyond reasonable doubt.
The cynics will say that Järvilehto lost his memory at a perfect time. But saying in public that he is lying about it is a crime in itself in case he is not lying.
I think it is unlikely that they would sentence him to prison if found guilty for the death of his friend. There are a bit similar cases like when someone has had a road accident and someone else dies and then the driver who caused it gets parole at worst. I don’t expect any prison time for Järvilehto.