Facts
The appellant X. was involved in an accident on June 22, 2005 as the driver of a Subaru Impreza on the motorway in Wolhusen. The public prosecutor accused him of having driven at a speed of 188 km/h into a right-hand curve and crossed into the oncoming lane. There, an oncoming vehicle driving correctly was able to avoid a collision. X. returned to his own lane, then drifted to the left and left the road. His two passengers [C.] and Ac. were thrown from the vehicle and died at the accident site.
On December 5, 2008, the Criminal Court of Lucerne convicted X. of multiple counts of endangerment of life to the detriment of Ac. and [C.], multiple counts of negligent homicide, and gross violation of traffic regulations by exceeding the general speed limit on motorways, and sentenced him to 6 years' imprisonment. On appeal by X., the High Court of the Canton of Lucerne confirmed the first-instance judgment on August 26, 2009.
X. appeals against this judgment in a criminal complaint. He requests to be acquitted of the charge of multiple counts of endangerment of life to the detriment of Ac. and C.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court considers the cumulative conviction for negligent homicide under Art. 117 SCC and endangerment of life under Art. 129 SCC to the detriment of the two deceased victims to be lawful.
The lower court has considered the facts as proven, according to which the main cause of the accident was the appellant's massive speeding. He was aware of the very high risk of an accident with fatal consequences for the vehicle occupants, but relied on the accident not occurring. Thus, he fulfilled both the elements of negligent homicide under Art. 117 SCC and the elements of endangerment of life under Art. 129 SCC.
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