Drink Drive Striker Dodges Six Months’ Jail

A women’s football star who killed a man in a head-on car crash when she drove home drunk after a boozy night out has dodged a lengthy jail sentence.

Austrian former football striker Nina Burger, 35, poses in undated photo. She was given a nine-month-long partially conditional prison sentence at the court in St. Poelten, Lower Austria, Austria, on Monday, April 17, 2023. (@nina_burger1019/Newsflash)

A court found Nina Burger, 35 – Austria’s top female scorer for six years in a row – guilty of negligent homicide on Monday, 17th April.

The star striker was sentenced to nine months behind bars but will spend just three of them in jail, according to local media.

Judges in St. Poelten District Court ruled that the remaining six months should be suspended.

And instead of a hefty fine, she was ordered to pay just EUR 4,000 (GBP 3,520) in compensation to the father-of-two’s heartbroken children.

The court heard how Burger decided to drive herself home after clubbing with friends in the Austrian capital Vienna on 25th November last year (2022).

Austrian former football striker Nina Burger, 35, poses in undated photo. She was given a nine-month-long partially conditional prison sentence at the court in St. Poelten, Lower Austria, Austria, on Monday, April 17, 2023. (@nina_burger1019/Newsflash)

As she left the venue in the early hours of the morning Burger – former star player for SC Sand 1946 – decided she was sober enough to drive home.

But she passed out behind the wheel and only came to when she ploughed into another car being driven by a 37-year-old man.

Later drink drive tests show she had a blood alcohol content of 0.78 per mile.

Burger told the court: “During the Vienna Business Evening in the 1st district, friends asked me if I would like to come to a club.

“Actually, I just wanted to stop by, but then it became very interesting, I met a few friends.”

She continued: “I walked past the car and had the feeling that I was fit to drive.

“For whatever reason, I changed my decision because I felt fit to drive anyway and didn’t feel impaired.”

Austrian former football striker Nina Burger, 35, poses in undated photo. She was given a nine-month-long partially conditional prison sentence at the court in St. Poelten, Lower Austria, Austria, on Monday, April 17, 2023. (@nina_burger1019/Newsflash)

But just minutes later, she fell asleep behind the wheel and jerked sharply to the left crashing head-on into the 37-year-old victim’s car.

She reportedly rushed to help the man after she gained consciousness but his car doors would not open.

Burger said: “My only thought was: I hope he survives! I didn’t wish for anything else than him surviving.”

However, the 37-year-old man was declared dead at the crash site.

Burger said: “I think about my family every day and every day I ask myself why I got into the car.

“It’s all my fault. I take responsibility. I’m incredibly sorry for what I did.”

Image shows Austrian former football striker Nina Burger, 35, at the court in St. Poelten, Lower Austria State, Austria, undated photo. She was given a nine-month-long partially conditional prison sentence on Monday, April 17, 2023. (Newsflash)

The court was told how Burger – who has served as a sports director First Vienna FC 1894 since 2020 – has been on sick leave ever since the crash.

She claimed that she had to be treated in a psychiatric ward and added: “It was just bad for me.”

Her attorney Johannes Oehlboeck said: “Her sporting plans for the future have vanished into thin air.”