Tampere court hands nine-year sentence for fatal crash, driver appeals

A 20-year-old man convicted of causing a fatal crash in Tampere’s Kalkku district has appealed his nine-year prison sentence to the Court of Appeal, Yle reports.

Arvin Daniel Esmaili was found guilty of manslaughter after driving at excessive speed during a violent loss of control in September 2024 that killed a 16-year-old passenger. The Pirkanmaa District Court ruled that Esmaili had acted with intent, determining he must have considered it highly probable the crash would result in the death of those in the vehicle.

Three other occupants—all wearing seatbelts—suffered serious injuries in the incident. Esmaili, who was driving without a valid license at the time, was also convicted of two counts of attempted manslaughter, aggravated endangerment of traffic safety, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and drug offenses.

The manslaughter conviction in a traffic fatality is rare; one judge on the panel argued the appropriate charge should have been aggravated vehicular homicide. Both the defense’s appeal and the prosecutor’s cross-appeal have been filed, with the case now advancing to the Turku Court of Appeal for review.