Polish prosecutors seek maximum eight-year sentence in fatal 315 km/h A1 motorway crash trial

Prosecution demands maximum sentence in fatal A1 crash

Closing arguments began on 7 October 2026 before the District Court in Piotrków Trybunalski in the trial of 34-year-old Sebastian M., accused of causing the fatal September 2023 crash on the A1 motorway. Prosecutor Aleksander Duda from the Katowice District Prosecutor's Office requested the maximum statutory sentence of eight years in prison under the current legal qualification. The prosecution also asked the court to bar the defendant from seeking early conditional release until completing three-quarters of his term, and demanded a 15-year driving prohibition. During his address, Duda stated that the statutory limit did not match the gravity of the event, describing the suffering inside the victims' car.

If a 20-year sentence were possible, I would request 20. If 30, I would request 30.

Reconstruction experts detail extreme vehicle speeds

The collision took place on the evening of 16 September 2023 on the Katowice-bound carriageway of the A1 motorway near the village of Sierosław. A modified BMW operated by Sebastian M. struck the rear of a Kia carrying a family from Myszków returning from a seaside holiday. The Kia hit crash barriers and caught fire, killing Patryk, Martyna, and their five-year-old son Oliwier at the scene. Accident reconstruction experts testified that the BMW was moving at a speed between 315 and 329 km/h at the time of the impact. The experts concluded that the Kia was traveling at approximately 140 km/h with cruise control active in the middle lane, without altering its path before being hit.

Defense challenges and rejected court motions

At the opening of Wednesday's proceedings, defense counsel attempted to reopen the judicial examination to present further evidentiary motions concerning expert assessments. Presiding judge Renata Folkman rejected the request, upholding prosecutor Duda's argument that new motions after the formal close of evidence served solely to delay the case. Sebastian M. maintained a plea of not guilty throughout the trial, disputing the expert calculations and asserting that his speed did not exceed 200 km/h. He suggested that the Kia cut in front of his lane or suffered a spare wheel mechanical fault. Defense lawyers had prepared roughly 200 questions targeting the technical findings across 30 volumes of case files.

I fully agree with the prosecutor, who argued that at this stage, after the closure of the judicial examination, evidentiary motions are late.

Flight to Dubai, trial history and financial redress

Following the crash, Sebastian M. left Poland for the United Arab Emirates via Munich and Istanbul, an excursion he described as a pre-planned business trip. Polish authorities extradited him from the UAE in May 2025, and he has remained in pre-trial detention since his return. The judicial proceedings formally opened on 22 October 2025 after a postponement from September 2025, during which the court heard testimony from passengers in the BMW, responding firefighters, police officers, automotive tuning specialists, and a former employee. In addition to the eight-year prison term, the prosecution requested 2.2 million PLN in compensation, comprising 1 million PLN for Martyna's parents, 1 million PLN for Patryk's parents, and 200,000 PLN for a brother.