Woman Faces 15-Month Suspended Sentence for Reckless Driving in Andorra

A 45-year-old woman faces a potential 15-month suspended prison sentence following a trial at Andorra's Tribunal de Corts over reckless driving charges stemming from a 2022 incident in Anyós.

The case, heard on Tuesday during the Sant Joan festivities four years ago, involved the driver heading from Anyós toward Escaldes-Engordany. Around 11:30 a.m. on a Friday morning, she entered a roundabout against traffic, drove erratically for roughly three minutes, and forced other motorists to swerve to avoid her. She briefly corrected her path to dodge a head-on truck collision and even returned to the correct lane momentarily before losing control and crashing alone into an embankment. No other injuries or third-party damage resulted.

Prosecutors rejected the defense's claim of a focal epileptic seizure, calling it "too coincidental" given her diagnosis since age 25 and regular medical follow-up since 2008. They pointed to video footage from mobility cameras showing deliberate maneuvers—like trajectory adjustments—as proof of awareness and voluntariness, arguing that driving with known risks of such episodes constituted foreseeable danger. The public prosecutor's office sought 15 months' suspended jail time, a two-year driving ban, and a €1,500 fine.

The woman testified that she recalled checking her watch before leaving home, then nothing until waking up surrounded by people after the crash. She described frequent short "auras" of mental disconnection lasting seconds, which had never before disrupted her normal life, including driving. She has not driven since and learned days later about entering the roundabout backward. Her neurologist explained that focal epilepsy can cause complex automatic actions—such as sustained wrong-way driving—for over a minute without environmental awareness, deeming it scientifically plausible here.

Police witnesses, relying on the videos, insisted the corrections demonstrated intent and knowledge of her surroundings. Medical and forensic experts could not confirm a seizure occurred but said it remained possible.

The defense urged acquittal, stressing no rational motive existed beyond the illness, which she had managed with favorable medical certificates for license renewals. The episode, they argued, was an unbidden manifestation of her condition.

The Tribunal de Corts has reserved judgment.