A Polish court has sentenced a driver to eight years in prison for causing a motorway crash that killed a family of three while his BMW was travelling at more than 300 km/h. The sentence is the maximum permitted under the charge brought against him, although the judgment is not final and his lawyer has announced an appeal.
The District Court in Piotrków Trybunalski, central Poland, delivered its judgment on Wednesday, 21 October, finding Sebastian M. guilty of causing the fatal collision on the A1 motorway in September 2023.
The court also banned him from driving any motor vehicle for 15 years and ordered him to pay a total of PLN 2.5 million in compensation to relatives of the victims.
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The case has attracted nationwide attention in Poland because of the extreme speed involved, questions surrounding the initial investigation and the defendant’s departure from the country before his eventual extradition from the United Arab Emirates.
The three victims were Patryk and Martyna Biali and their five-year-old son, Oliwier.
Judge imposes maximum eight-year prison sentence
Judge Renata Folkman delivered the verdict after a trial lasting approximately one year.
According to RMF FM’s courtroom reporting, the judge sharply criticised Sebastian M.’s decision to test the performance of his modified BMW on a public motorway rather than a racing circuit.
The court concluded that his driving caused the collision and rejected the defence’s alternative explanation of the events.
In explaining the sentence, Folkman said the defendant’s conduct warranted a severe punishment, but the applicable criminal charge restricted the maximum prison term to eight years.
The prosecution had requested the maximum sentence, while Sebastian M. and his lawyers had sought an acquittal.
The conviction is for causing a road accident resulting in death, under Article 177(2) of Poland’s Criminal Code.
That offence, as charged in this case, carries a prison sentence of between six months and eight years.
The distinction is important because, despite the extremely high speed and three deaths, Sebastian M. was not prosecuted for murder or intentional homicide.
In April 2024, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Piotrków Trybunalski explained that an additional accident-reconstruction opinion had not provided grounds to replace the original charge with the more serious offence of causing a transport disaster.
The court’s decision therefore represents the maximum punishment available under the offence for which he was convicted, rather than the highest possible sentence under every provision of Polish criminal law.
BMW estimated to have been travelling at up to 329 km/h
The collision occurred on the evening of 16 September 2023, near the village of Sierosław on the A1 motorway, south of Łódź.
Sebastian M. was driving a high-performance BMW when it collided with the rear of a Kia carrying the Biali family.
The Kia struck motorway safety barriers and caught fire. All three occupants died at the scene.
During the trial, accident-reconstruction experts estimated that the BMW had been travelling at between 315 and 329 km/h.
The estimates, presented during proceedings and reported by TVP Info, placed the BMW at more than twice Poland’s 140 km/h motorway speed limit for passenger cars.
Experts also estimated that the Kia was travelling at approximately 140 km/h.
The court accepted the prosecution’s reconstruction and concluded that the BMW driver’s actions were responsible for the collision.
In her explanation of the verdict, Judge Folkman said the Kia driver had been unable to avoid the approaching danger.
The court also considered evidence concerning modifications made to the BMW, testimony from witnesses and passengers, and accounts from emergency personnel who attended the scene.
The proceedings involved nearly 30 volumes of case files.
PLN 2.5 million awarded to victims’ relatives
Alongside the prison sentence, the court ordered Sebastian M. to pay damages totalling PLN 2.5 million, approximately half a million pounds.
Five relatives of the victims were awarded PLN 500,000 each.
The payments cover the parents of the two deceased adults and a brother of one of the victims.
The full financial order was reported by O2, citing the judge’s announcement in court.
The court also ordered the defendant to reimburse certain legal and procedural expenses.
Sebastian M. will be eligible to apply for conditional early release only after serving three-quarters of his eight-year sentence, equivalent to six years.
Eligibility does not mean that release after six years is automatic.
Time already spent in pre-trial detention will be credited towards his sentence.
The award of compensation does not itself establish when the relatives will receive the money.
Driver extradited from Dubai after leaving Poland
The judgment comes more than three years after the crash and follows a prolonged international effort to return the defendant to Poland.
Sebastian M. left Poland after the collision, travelling first to Germany and then via Turkey to the United Arab Emirates.
Polish authorities subsequently sought his arrest using an Interpol Red Notice.
He was detained in Dubai, but extradition proceedings continued for an extended period.
According to the Katowice District Prosecutor’s Office’s official account, the UAE Supreme Court rejected his appeal against extradition, and the country’s justice minister gave final approval on 15 May 2025.
Sebastian M. was returned to Poland on 26 May 2025 and placed in pre-trial detention.
He was formally charged the following day.
Polish prosecutors subsequently filed the indictment on 10 July 2025.
The authorities described the extradition as the first involving the transfer of a Polish citizen from the United Arab Emirates to Poland.
His departure from Poland after the accident was a separate event from the collision itself and should not be confused with fleeing the immediate crash scene.
Defence announces appeal
Sebastian M.’s lawyer, Katarzyna Hebda, announced after Wednesday’s judgment that the defence intends to appeal.
Speaking to journalists, she maintained that the defence had presented a different account of the collision and argued that the court had not adequately addressed its objections.
Her comments were reported by O2 following the hearing.
The defence had disputed the accident reconstruction during the trial and argued that the evidence did not establish Sebastian M.’s responsibility in the manner alleged by prosecutors.
The judge rejected that position, concluding that the defendant’s driving caused the crash.
The appeal announcement means the case is not yet legally concluded.
No appellate court has reviewed the judgment, and the verdict must not be described as final.
Case raises questions about road safety and criminal penalties
The September 2023 crash became a prominent public controversy in Poland, prompting scrutiny of dangerous speeding, police procedures and the criminal justice system’s response to fatal road accidents.
The initial investigation itself attracted criticism and led to separate prosecutorial inquiries into the handling of the case.
In August 2024, the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had discontinued an investigation into allegations of deliberate wrongdoing by police officers, finding that the evidence did not establish the alleged criminal offences.
However, the National Prosecutor’s Office subsequently ordered further evidential work in related investigations and reassigned proceedings to prosecutors in the Katowice region.
Those inquiries are distinct from Wednesday’s verdict on Sebastian M.’s criminal responsibility.
The case has also intensified public debate over whether existing penalties adequately reflect the consequences of exceptionally dangerous driving.
The eight-year sentence demonstrates the limits of the particular offence used in this prosecution, even where the court found that the defendant’s conduct caused the deaths of three people.
What happens next?
The next stage will depend on the defence’s announced appeal.
The appeal process can involve a review of the court’s assessment of the evidence, its legal conclusions and the sentence imposed.
For now, Sebastian M. remains subject to a non-final conviction and an eight-year prison sentence.
The court has also imposed the driving ban and financial awards, but their final legal effect remains subject to the outcome of any appeal.
For the family of Patryk, Martyna and Oliwier Biali, Wednesday’s verdict represents a major judicial decision after more than three years of proceedings.
The case may now move to a higher court before a final resolution is reached.
