85-year-old driver receives suspended sentence after fatal Lapua crash

An 85-year-old man has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended, after a crash in Lapua killed a 15-year-old tractor driver, Yle reports. The South Ostrobothnia District Court convicted him of aggravated endangerment of traffic safety and aggravated causing of death.

The crash happened at the junction of Ravitie and Siiriläntie in October 2025. The court found that the driver had seriously neglected his duty to yield and drove directly into the junction from behind a yield sign without giving way to the tractor, which had priority.

Data from the car’s event recorder showed that the driver had practically neither used his indicator nor braked before the collision. The tractor driver died, while the driver’s wife, who was travelling in the car, was injured.

Driver denied guilt

The man denied committing a crime in court. He said he had turned right in his own lane and that the tractor had moved into his lane.

The court rejected his account. According to the judgment, written evidence, eyewitness observations and the technical investigation all supported the charges. The court said the junction was large, visibility was unrestricted and the conditions were good.

The boy’s father was driving a van behind the tractor and witnessed the crash.

The court ordered the convicted man to pay each parent 12,000 euros in compensation for suffering, as well as their legal costs of nearly 6,200 euros.

The judgment is not yet final.