German court drops probe against Daimler CEO

The Wall Street Journal (Frankfurt) - A German court in Osnabrueck said Monday it has dropped an investigation against Daimler AG's Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche, as the board representative, into the death of a company engineer in a crash on a test track last year.

The parents of the deceased alleged that the accident resulted from a violation of the supervisory functions of leading Daimler employees. State prosecutors in Osnabrueck halted the probe, saying no such violation transpired, and that the deceased was appropriately instructed of the risks prior to the event and was familiar with the local test conditions.

In July, a court in Papenburg issued a fine and probation for the driver who it said caused the accident. The Daimler engineer had been sitting in a second vehicle involved in the crash.

On Friday, a Daimler spokeswoman had said the company expected Mr. Zetsche to be cleared of the allegations.