Mathew Broderick was driving a rented BMW 316 in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, when he crossed into the wrong lane and collided head-on with a Volvo on August 5, 1987.
Anna Gallagher, the driver, and her mother, Margaret Doherty, were both killed instantly. He was on vacation with Jennifer Grey, whom he had begun dating in secret while filming Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; the crash made their relationship public.
He had a fractured leg and ribs, as well as a concussion and a collapsed lung. Grey suffered severe whiplash, which necessitated surgery to prevent paralysis.
Broderick told police he had no memory of the accident and had no idea why he was in the wrong lane: “What I first remember is waking up in the hospital, with a very strange feeling going on in my leg,” Broderick told police.
He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced up to five years in prison, but he was found guilty of careless driving and fined £100 (US$175).
The verdict was dubbed a “travesty of justice” by the victims’ families. Martin Doherty, the victims’ brother and son, later forgave Broderick while planning to meet him in 2003.