Court sentences driver to 9.5 years for fatal Heinola hit-and-run

The Päijät-Häme District Court has sentenced Santtu Oskari Poutanen to nine and a half years in prison for manslaughter and five other offences following a fatal hit-and-run in Heinola, Yle reports.

The 30-year-old driver was more than two per mille over the alcohol limit when he ran over a young man from Heinola, who died.

The sentence also covered three counts of causing danger, aggravated drunk driving and leaving the scene of a traffic accident.

Three other men were walking with the victim. The court found that the driver had endangered them as well.

After the collision, Poutanen abandoned the car outside the town centre and fled into the woods.

The court ordered him to pay more than 10,300 euros for costs including determining the cause of death, witness expenses and insurance compensation.

According to Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, the court had not yet considered compensation claims from the victim’s relatives or the three men who were endangered as of August 18.