Instagram racer hit 210 km/h near Jihlava, filmed it on his phone — and got a suspended sentence

Daniel Kovanda pushed his Audi S8 to 210 km/h on Road 602 between Velké Beranov and Jihlava in late 2023 — steering with his left hand the entire time while filming the ride with his right for his Instagram account. He later posted the clip of the reckless drive himself, which turned out to be the key piece of evidence used against him.

According to the prosecution, the driver ignored road signs and crossed into the oncoming lane, forcing another driver to brake sharply to avoid a collision. A head-on crash and a multi-car pileup were avoided only thanks to a chain of pure coincidences that had nothing to do with the driver's own actions, the case files state.

Verdict and appeals

The Jihlava District Court found Kovanda guilty of endangering public safety and sentenced him to three years, suspended for a five-year probationary period, a fine of 100,000 crowns, and a five-year driving ban. Neither side was satisfied with the ruling: the prosecutor wanted a harsher penalty, while the defendant insisted he was entirely innocent. It fell to the Regional Court in Brno to settle the dispute, which heard the appeal this week.

The defendant's lawyer argued that the judge in Jihlava had been biased against his client because of his "macho" self-presentation style, and that this bias had swayed the outcome of the case. The defense also tried to cast doubt on whether Kovanda was actually behind the wheel, since the driver's face is not visible in the footage, pointing to inconsistencies in some of the evidence. The defendant himself did not appear at the hearing.

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Source: novinky.cz