A Portuguese man who was remanded in custody following a truck rampage in Lagos in January 2009, which left one woman dead and seven other people injured, has been sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay a 1,000 euro fine (also see Algarve Resident, January 24 2009 edition).
During the sentencing on February 19, Lagos court found João Soares Martins, 22, guilty of theft (of the truck), disobedience, dangerous driving, grievous bodily harm and negligence.
He was, however, absolved of the charges of murder and attempted murder because it was during the intervention of a third party, who entered the truck and diverted it away from a busy outdoor café, that the accidental death occurred.
The sentencing means that no one was found guilty of the death of Rosa Patrício, 46, who was killed during the rampage.
Lagos court judge Alda Casimiro said that the man who intervened and ended the rampage would not be tried for the death of the woman because he had acted with the intention of preventing a greater tragedy.
