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Young cyclist killed after being hit by getaway car in west Berlin

A young woman was tragically killed in Berlin's Charlottenburg district on Wednesday after a car hit her while making a getaway from an attempted robbery.

Young cyclist killed after being hit by getaway car in west Berlin
A bicycle lamp lies on the street at the corner of Kantstraße and Windscheidstraße. Photo: DPA

The getaway car crashed into the woman while she pushed her bike along the pavement in the wealthy western district. Three passengers in the car and a further three people were injured in the collision, some of them seriously.

Police confirmed on Thursday morning that the victim was just 22 years old. Medics attempted to resuscitate her, but sadly she died at the scene.

The trio in the getaway car had tried to steal tools from a Ford Transit van on the corner of Brandenburgische Straße and Westfälische Straße in the south-western district of Wilmersdorf, police report. When the suspects tried to drive away they were followed by plain-clothed officers. 

The driver first drove over a policeman who had tried to stop the car, then sped through a red light, causing a collision with two other cars. The young woman was also struck during the crash.

Even then though, the chase wasn't over, as the driver attempted to flee the scene. But police officers were able to detain him soon after. The two other men were arrested in the car.

It was also confirmed on Thursday morning that the 27-year-old driver had been under the influence of alcohol and that his accomplices – 14 and 18 years old – were injured during the incident.

Official figures released this week show that more people have died on the streets of Berlin so far in 2018 than in the whole of last year.

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CRIME

Germany arrests seven suspected members of IS fundraising network

German prosecutors said Wednesday they had arrested seven people accused of collecting money to send to the Islamic State group in Syria.

Germany arrests seven suspected members of IS fundraising network

The four Germans, a German-Moroccan dual national, one Kosovar and a Turkish citizen, were accused of belonging “to an international network that supported the terrorist activities of the Islamic State in Syria through financial donations”, the federal prosecutor’s office said.

Starting in 2020, the group used the Telegram messaging service to appeal for contributions, prosecutors said.

Their network included financial intermediaries who “collected money or set up accounts” for the donations.

From these accounts the money was transferred to IS members in Syria or to designated middlemen.

The funds were used to support IS members detained in northern Syrian camps and in some cases helped finance their escape, prosecutors said.

In total, 65,000 were collected through the network.

The seven suspects were said to have acted as financial intermediaries and played a “central role” in the fundraising group, prosecutors said.

The arrests were part of a nationwide swoop against people who had made donations to IS via the group.

Over 1,000 police officers searched over 90 properties across Germany on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: Islamic State returnees ‘will not face arrest in Germany’

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