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JusticeValais: he had transformed his funicular into a deadly trap
A man has been convicted of negligent homicide. However, he escapes any sanction.
The drama with the private funicular resulting in the death of a 68-year-old woman took place in 2014. (Illustration image)
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In Valais, the owner of a private funicular was convicted of negligent homicide for the death of his sister-in-law. She succumbed to her injuries after being trapped between the installation and a pillar. The convict, however, escapes any sanction.
The tragedy took place during the winter of 2014, relate “The Newbie”. Two people were in the facility when she arrived at the upper station, where the convict’s dwelling was located. The first person had opened the door and walked out. But when the second person tried to do the same, the funicular started moving again.
This 68-year-old woman found herself trapped between the basket and a pillar. It had taken about thirty minutes for the family to extract the unfortunate woman. Taken care of and airlifted to Sion Hospital, she succumbed to her injuries.
Security Bypassed
Normally, a system checks that the door is properly closed. If this is not the case, the platform cannot restart. But the tragedy was possible because the defendant had installed a device to circumvent this system. In addition, the authorities had not checked this funicular because the man had never asked for authorization from the canton to operate it.
The Public Ministry therefore upheld the negligent homicide. If he had not bypassed the security system, “the accident would not have happened,” said the prosecution.
The Valaisan will have to pay more than 18,000 francs in legal costs and his conviction will appear on his criminal record. But he received no punishment. As provided for in the Penal Code, it is possible to exempt a culprit from any penalty if he has already suffered enough. However, the condemned man was very affected by the death of his sister-in-law, with whom he had a privileged relationship, notes the Valais daily. He suffered from depression and said his life stopped on the day of the tragedy.