Laughter gas was not proven in the fatal accident case, while drug charges were dropped midway.

The time between the moment of the offense and the blood test can be crucial for the evidence in cases involving drugs, according to an expert.

The 65-year-old Shahram Hamrazpour was killed in the violent accident at BabySam on Roskildevej in Valby on August 19 last year.

In court today, the now 18-year-old was convicted of reckless manslaughter under aggravating circumstances because he drove particularly carelessly. This was partly due to his speed at the time of the accident.

However, the prosecution had initially charged him with consuming both nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and cannabis in connection with the driving.

The court did not find it proven that he had consumed nitrous oxide, and the charge of cannabis was dropped on the last day of the trial.

This was despite the fact that a blood test taken several hours after his arrest showed traces of cannabis in his blood—he was 17 at the time of the offense.

The convicted man testified in court that after the accident, he took a few puffs from a joint to ease a panic attack he had suffered following the crash.

A joint he had found in his apartment.

After the accident, the defendant left the scene and was only arrested by the police many hours later.

This meant a significant delay before the police could take a blood sample to determine what was in his system when he lost control of the vehicle.

And this delay matters in legal cases, as it affects how quickly the police can obtain the suspect’s blood.

This is the assessment of **Lene Wacher Lentz**, a lecturer in criminal law at Aalborg University.

She speaks generally and not about this specific case.

*"A blood test must show what was in the blood at the time of the offense. The longer the time between driving and arrest, the more likely it is that something could happen to alter that picture,"* she says.

Prosecutor Sara Groth dropped the charges midway through the trial that the defendant had been affected by cannabis at the moment of the offense.

*"Do people believe the explanation that those involved in some kind of traffic accident drive straight home and drink themselves into a stupor?"*

**Lene Wacher Lentz**, lecturer in criminal law at Aalborg University.

She retained, however, the charge that the then 17-year-old had been affected by nitrous oxide, as there were two nitrous oxide canisters in the car—one empty.

The court, however, did not consider that sufficient evidence had been provided that the 18-year-old was under the influence of nitrous oxide at the time of the accident.

---

A phenomenon known from drunk driving cases

In court, it emerged that nitrous oxide can be measured in the blood if a blood test is taken relatively quickly.

A forensic chemist assessed in court that nitrous oxide can disappear from the blood if more than two hours have passed since consumption.

In this specific case, the blood test was only taken at 04:30, while the accident occurred around 18:00 the day before.

And in previous cases, someone has tried to exploit this time window.

This is explained by **Lene Wacher Lentz**.

She says that, among other things, this has been seen in cases of drunk driving.

*"It has been well-known that several people have claimed: 'Well, I wasn’t drunk when I drove. I came home, wanted to relax, and then I opened some bottles and enjoyed myself. Everything was consumed after I got home,'"* she says.

---

Assessment of credibility

**Lene Wacher Lentz** explains that it all comes down to whether one believes the suspect’s explanation compared to what happened at the scene of the crime.

*"So it’s a combination of the examination of the blood content and the explanation the suspect provides, which must be credible in relation to the reason behind the consumption of alcohol that may have taken place,"* says **Lene Wacher Lentz**.

*"Do people believe the explanation that those involved in some kind of traffic accident drive straight home and drink themselves into a stupor?"*

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.