Victim of stoned driver ‘carries half the blame’
The relatives of a man who died in a car crash last year are only entitled to half their compensation as the victim had put his own life at risk by accompanying a driver who was under the influence of marijuana, the Supreme Court ruled in a decision made public yesterday. The unnamed victim died after the car in which he was being driven – by an unnamed individual who had been smoking marijuana – veered off the road near Atalanti, Viotia, and crashed into a tree. The passenger, who had also been smoking the drug and was not wearing a seat belt, died instantly while the driver was injured. The passenger must take half the blame for his death as he had not smoked so much as to impair his comprehension that he was in danger, the court ruled, upholding an appeal court’s decision. The EU’s immature political reaction to the Palestinian crisis helped cover up the unsuccessful initiative by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who expressed the wish to tour Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia but who was finally confined to a pointless visit to Egypt.
