The drunk driver sentenced to one year and nine months for running eight cyclists and fleeing

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The driver, who tripled the maximum BAC, hit a platoon in April of 2013 and left three seriously injured

As reported by Majorcan newspaper A criminal court in Palma has sentenced a driver to one year and nine months in prison for driving drunk, running over a platoon of eight German cyclists and fleeing, leaving three seriously injured athletes on the Can Picafort-Muro road in early April 2013.

The defendant, a 39-year-old Spaniard, tripled the maximum allowed breathalyzer rate and was located an hour after the spectacular accident.

The magistrate has also imposed the deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds for four years, which leads to the loss of the validity of the driving license.

The car that hit the squad of eight German cyclists on the road from Can Picafort to Muro and fled the afternoon of 6 last April 2013 lost several pieces after the accident, including a rear-view mirror.

The Traffic Civil Guard turned to the investigation to try to find the driver. After taking statements from several witnesses, after an hour, the agents found the Peugeot fled on a street in Muro. They also located the drunk driver.

He will not enter jail

The suspect will not enter the prison because his prison sentence has been suspended for a period of four years. Initially, he was facing a request from the prosecutor for two and a half years of deprivation of liberty.

According to the prosecution, the suspect was circulating with his psychophysical faculties diminished by the previous intake of alcoholic beverages. He was driving completely inattentive to the circumstances of the traffic, so he did not notice the presence of a platoon of cyclists made up of eight people who rode correctly, provided with helmets and appropriate clothing. The athletes circulated in a platoon of two parallel rows on the right lane of the road, towards Muro.

The cyclists were perfectly visible to the defendant, who, given his psychophysical conditions, was belatedly aware of the presence of the peloton. By not calculating the distance, approach speed and not maintaining the lateral safety interval with respect to the group of athletes, he initiated an evasive braking maneuver and a slight turn to the left, but could not avoid running over one of the cyclists.

Multiple trampling

The defendant rammed the athlete who was behind the peloton to the left. As it passed the group, it then collided sideways with three other runners on the left side. All this caused the bicycles to shift sideways and, as a consequence, the rest of the cyclists in the group fell to the ground. Three of them were seriously injured and the other five suffered minor injuries.

The suspect driver then left the scene. He did not stop or notice the result of the spectacular accident or worry about whether the victims needed help, but simply continued his march.

After more than an hour, the Civil Guard located the accused. When he was subjected to the breathalyzer test, he gave a positive result, tripling the maximum legal rate allowed (0,25 mg / l). In a first test, carried out at eight thirty in the afternoon, it gave a result of 0,85 mg / l of expired air. Meanwhile, in the second test, performed at ten minutes to nine, it gave a rate of 0,87 mg / l. In addition, the man presented external signs of being in a drunken state: congested face, very wet veiled eyes, dilated pupils, exalted behavior, pasty speech, inconsistencies, repetition of phrases and ideas or high volume of voice.

The first cyclist to be run over was seriously injured with multiple concussions, cervical and thoracic trauma and an incised wound to one ear. He required surgical treatment and was hospitalized for eleven days. It took more than 500 days to heal and has been left with a disorder that causes double vision.

Another athlete who was run over suffered polytonusions and a fibula fracture with distal bone burst and distortion in the joint. She had to be operated on, spent ten days in the hospital, and took 84 days to heal. There have also been sequels.

The third injured cyclist was polycombined with tendonitis and took 131 days to heal. The rest of the athletes suffered minor injuries. All those injured were indemnified by insurance. The judge intervened the card to the defendant during 3 years and a half.

From Triathlon News we work to try to raise awareness among cyclists and drivers trying to inform about good behavior and the regulations to avoid these tragic news.

Then we leave a series of links where various scenarios are shown and how to act before them

Fuente: El Diario de Mallorca

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