A Ferrari 296 GTB crashed in Monaco’s Louis II tunnel on March 1 after racing through at close to 190 km/h, on a road limited to 50 km/h. The driver’s 14-year-old daughter was in the passenger seat, Monaco-Matin reports.
Three other people, travelling by e-scooter, scooter and bicycle, only just missed being caught up in the crash. Public Security investigators later worked out the car’s speed.
Seven months on, the 38-year-old driver, named only as Kristina, has been told she will not be going back to prison. The Court of Appeal ruled on Monday, October 5. It kept her conviction and all the extra penalties, but changed the prison term to 24 months, with 21 suspended. The other three months are covered by the time she has already spent in Monaco’s prison while waiting for her appeal.
Her lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, said the ruling was disappointing given the technical arguments the defence had put forward, as quoted by Monaco-Matin. But he said the “significant reduction” in the custodial sentence reflected his client’s understanding of the facts. He did not rule out a further appeal and said the team would make sure the decision was not “unduly used” in the civil proceedings, which remain her priority in a custody dispute over her daughters.
She was tried just days after the crash on charges of causing serious unintentional injury, losing control of her vehicle and speeding. The court gave her 24 months, with 16 suspended, banned her from driving in Monaco for five years and fined her €1,750. It also ordered the Ferrari to be confiscated and told her to pay her daughter a symbolic €1 in damages.
The teenager has since withdrawn her civil claim, as her parents are in dispute over custody.
Kristina was freed on bail after three months in custody, ahead of her appeal hearing on June 29. Her lawyers asked for the proceedings to be annulled.