BMW driver jailed in southern Spain after killing a baby in a hit-and-run while high on a cocktail of drugs

A BMW driver who killed a baby while high on a cocktail of drugs in a hit-and-run in Sevilla has been sent to jail for three years.

The tragic incident occurred in Castiblanco de los Arroyos in November 2020, when Jose María VV, 25 at the time, mowed down a mother and her baby daughter at a zebra crossing in the middle of the afternoon.

Jose Maria had been overtaking a slow-moving car above the speed limit when he crashed into the mother pushing a pram while high on a deadly mix of heroin, cocaine, cannabis, and opiates.

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Instead of stopping and getting out of the car, Jose Maria immediately dashed off, leaving his victims to be helped by passersby.

They were rushed to a medical centre, where the mother was found to have suffered severe injuries all over her body, including a broken spine. 

Tragically, the baby died a few hours later from her injuries.

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A few hours later, Jose Maria’s father called the police and admitted to what his son had done.

Jose Maria told the Guardia Civil that while he was driving, his lighter had fallen on the floor of the car, and that he bent down to pick it up. 

He explained that he had swerved to avoid a white vehicle and in doing so had hit the pram. He then claimed that he had fled the scene because he had heard shouting and he was ‘scared’.

During his trial, the court noted his confession to the authorities, which was made before he knew he was under investigation.

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It was considered a mitigating circumstance in his relatively light sentence.

But the court also found that the 29-year-old had ignored the most basic rules of safe driving, especially the need to slow down near a pedestrian crossing, and that his driving was severely affected by the drugs.

José María defence lawyer pleaded for leniency based on his client’s drug addiction and delays in the legal process. 

The court accepted his confession and drug addiction as mitigating circumstances. However, it did not accept the argument there had been any undue delays in the legal process.

Jose Maria was sentenced to three years and seven months in jail in total, along with a five-year driving ban and confiscated his BMW.