A track employee implicated in a November bobsled crash that crippled Russian athlete Irina Skvortsova was fined 3,600 euros ($5,000) by a district court in the German town of Laufen over the incident, RIA-Novosti reported Monday.
Skvortsova’s bobsled collided with another vehicle on the track near Laufen after the employee, Peter Helle, ordered Skvortsova’s crew to begin the race despite a red light banning the start.
Skvortsova, who spent several weeks in an induced coma, almost lost a leg in the incident and is still recuperating.
Helle said at the hearing that the launch of Skvortsova’s sled was sanctioned over the loud speakers at the stadium and that starts while the red light is on are a regular occurrence in bobsled races.
(MT)
