a German truck driver was sentenced on Monday by the court in Vincenza (north-east Italy) of four years in prison for the cause of death of the Italian ex-cyclist David Rebellin in November 2022, the Italian press reports.
Wolfgang Rieke64, was charged with murder and failure to render assistance to a person in danger. The prosecution requested a sentence of five years in prison.
Contacted by AFP, the Vincenza court did not immediately respond. The truck driver, an employee of a company in Recke, near Münster (northern Germany), collided at a roundabout with Davide Rebellin, who was training on the bike on November 30, 2022, in the town of Montebello Vicentino, in Veneto.
He didn’t stop. He was identified by analyzing images from surveillance cameras located near the accident site, before his arrest in Germany in June 2023.
Davide Rebellin, 51, died instantly. His sudden death has caused great sadness in the world of Italian cycling and sport.
Throughout his career, Rebellin forged one of the best one-day racing records of his generation: in particular, he won the Fleche Wallonne three times and once Liège-Bastogne-Liège, achieving a resounding victory in 2004. Triple in the Ardennes classics (Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Flecha Wallonne, Amstel Gold Race). He finished second in the road race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but when he tested positive for EPO a few months later, he lost his silver medal and received a two-year suspension.
Source: La Verdad
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