A 23-year-old man has been sentenced by Copenhagen City Court to four years and six months in prison for running down and killing 46-year-old Cilla Olander Johansson on HC Andersen Boulevard last November. That is the maximum penalty under the law. The man had a blood alcohol level of 1.01 and traces of THC in his blood at the time of the accident.

Police investigating at the time said the man admitted to consuming “two large glasses of whiskey” before taking the wheel, and one of two women who were riding in the backseat of the car told police that the driver had also been smoking cannabis and snorting cocaine. She said that he was having trouble standing before he sat down to drive.

The man was charged with involuntary manslaughter and the prosecution had demanded at least four years in prison.

Seeking a lighter sentence
The driver was travelling more than 90 km/h when he ran a red light and hit Johansson as she attempted to cross the intersection near Tivoli Gardens and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Passengers told the court that the driver had reached speeds of 200 km/h during the trip from Farum to Copenhagen. He was also reportedly texting on his mobile phone at the time of the accident.

The man said that he will appeal the verdict to the High Court in an attempt to get a shorter sentence.