“The outrage in Castellbisbal was not an accident. He did not stop, he laughed at us and sped up”

The mass outrage in which a group of cyclists from Ruby Cycling Club last Sunday at the end of Castellbisbal (Barcelona) has re-emphasized the dangers posed by road cycling and the irresponsibility of some drivers, while opening up the debate over how cheap it is for a driver to run over and kill a cyclist.

Two days have passed since the fatal incident of Castellbisbal and gradually the president of Ruby Cycling Club -entity founded 50 years ago and has around 60 partners- Peter Cancio He sees the light at the end of the tunnel, especially when he receives good news from the colleague who was in a worse condition after being run over, JR, who thankfully seems to be on the mend. Something that two teammates who died on the spot after being hit by a car at full speed could not do. They are 71 and 66 years old and have been cycling together since they were 14 years old.

How did the collapse happen?

Last Sunday a group of ten cyclists from Ruby Cycling Club went out to do the usual Sunday outing on a ‘circuit’ very close by Ruby and that they can do twice a week. While they were driving along the C-243c, at the height of Castellbisbal, they were hit by a car that not only managed to avoid being run over, but also sped up and laughed at them after it broke down. cause. The man driving the car fled the scene and shortly afterwards abandoned the car in a public square. Martorellnear his home, before being imprisoned by Mossos d’Esquadra. It later emerged that the person who caused the outrage had a criminal record spanning several years against road safety and drug trafficking, in addition to being denounced for the abuse of his former partner.

Convocation in Rubí on September 3

After what happened, the Rubí Cycling Club called a meeting, which included a cycling event, in memory of the victims of Sunday’s multiple hit-and-runs, to denounce what happened and show their support and love to the relatives of those affected.

Peter Cancio He saved his life on Sunday because, with another colleague, he was a few meters ahead of the others, at a point that was neither difficult nor dangerous. “It is not a black spot. The place of the accident is at a point on the road where you leave Martorell and you can go, for example, to Castellbisbal. A point with two lanes, very well defined, where there is a very open curve. It cannot be classified as a black area because there has never been an accident or incident here,” explained Pedro Cancio to MD, president of the cycling club for three years.

Pedro Cancio will take time to forget what he lived through. “I was first, when I found out about the incident I turned around and saw the whole picture, when the ambulances arrived and the Mossos d’Esquadra and they took our statement. It was an absolute invasion. It came from the other direction and positioned itself in our lane. We were at the end of the straight and it all happened in a thousand seconds. It came from the front and they couldn’t react. They don’t have time. He ate the first of the group, then took the rest first and the last one, who had the most visibility, managed to jump to the left. He saw that the driver not only did not brake, but sped away.”

Possible 10 years in prison

Fortunately, a car following the group of cyclists and witnessing several hit-and-runs was able to write down the license plate. “It was not an accident. He didn’t just run over us, but he put his hand out the car window and made fun of us with a comb,” explained Pedro Cancio who was furious. the president regrets Ruby Cycling Club that “the problem is like the laws, the judges have little room for maneuver. It can be said that killing a cyclist is free. On Sunday, we just want to go out by bicycle. We rely on cars, and we are careful. going back home How are we going to get out of here?”

In September, the final reform of the Penal Code

In mid-September, the final reform of the Penal Code must be approved in the Senate, ending the loopholes that came from the 2019 reform. This reform eliminates in most accidents the possibility for the judge to archive the case for consideration that there is no punishable negligence.
Now, if there is a person who violates a traffic rule and causes injuries or deaths, in any case, the presence of carelessness has to be considered less serious and, therefore, go through criminal proceedings and receive a criminal conviction.
On the other hand, a gap in the wording of the crime of escape was removed, where a judge in Valencia acquitted a driver who, after committing serious negligence, fled, because this judge said that it was planned only because of a mistake in the words that the escape existed if there was only less serious carelessness and not and paradoxically serious caution.
With the new wording, this loophole is removed and any person who flees with gross negligence or less serious negligence or unforeseen circumstances, leaving the injured or dead, will be a crime without any possible misinterpretation.

Exactly while Peter Cancio spoke to MD who was transferred to the court of Ruby to the driver who was arrested for running over Rubí, after spending the night at the Rubí police station. At this point, MD contacted a lawyer specializing in the matter Alfonso Trivino who, after highlighting the complexity of the case as a result of what was found out, explains that “if he did them on purpose, we are talking about intentional homicide, and if we are talking about hit by reckless driving, we’re talking about. about five crimes, resulting in more than one death and several injuries. That means at least six years in prison for the act of contempt, provided that there is more than one deceased, because article 152 bis establishes that the punishments given for homicide will be increased by one degree reckless due to serious negligence. And that accident was due to reckless driving with indifference to the lives of others with adverse consequences, which is a separate crime. On the other hand, there is the crime of abandoning the scene of accidents punishable by up to the four years in prison Because he is a repeat offender, because he drives without a driver’s license either through judicial withdrawal or through the exhaustion of points, he drives without a driver’s license , which is another crime punishable by law. with up to six months imprisonment. And since he is a recidivist, the penalty of the crime that is most punishable at its higher level is applied, so we can also talk about a real crime contest of six years for abuse plus four years for absconding with recidivism that would force the application of the highest level of penalties. We are talking about at least 10 years in prison if the Penal Code is applied strictly.”

After the deadly rage of two cyclists from Rubí and what happened on Monday in the municipality of San Fernando de Henares (Madrid)), there are already 21 cyclists who have died in 2022 while cycling.