A professional driver has been sentenced by the central criminal chamber of Portimão due to the commission of four criminal offences of involuntary manslaughter. The four dead victims were Dutch tourists who were travelling by a coach driven by the defendant along the Highway A 22, in the area of Paderne-Albufeira, on 17 June 2015.

The defendant was found guilty of causing the overturn of the vehicle as a result of his inattentive and careless driving too close to the edge of the road, namely while he was trying to reach and operate the air diffuser.

The defendant was imposed a custodial sentence of 1 year and 3 months imprisonment for each criminal offence, and the calculation made out of the combined four separate sentences resulted into an aggregate custodial sentence of 3 years and 10 months imprisonment suspended in its execution on probation. The defendant was further sentenced to a three-year interdiction to drive motor vehicles.

The inquiry stage was led by the Public Prosecution of Faro – Department of Criminal Investigation and Prosecution -, which also produced the corresponding indictment. A Public Prosecutor from the central criminal chamber of Portimão sustained the indictment during trial.