Davide Rebellin's killer found

[pasadena]

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dav...-truck-driver/

of course, a repeat offender....

The truck driver who allegedly struck and killed Davide Rebellin on Wednesday has been identified and traced in Germany following cooperation between Italian, German, Austrian and Slovenian police.

Rebellin, 51, was killed instantly when he was hit by a truck driver while riding his bike in Montebello Vicentino on Wednesday.

The 62-year-old driver faces a charge of vehicular homicide in Italy, but although he has been located by authorities in Germany, he has not been arrested as the offence is not covered under the German penal code.

According to a report in Il Gazzettino, the truck driver was aware that he had struck Rebellin before fleeing the scene. The newspaper cited eyewitnesses who said they saw the driver emerge from the Volvo truck after the crash and approach Rebellin's body before driving off again.

The 51-year-old Rebellin, who had only retired from professional cycling in October, was killed instantly when he was hit by the truck driver while riding his bike in Montebello Vicentino shortly before midway on Wednesday.

Both Il Gazzettino and Il Corriere della Sera report that the German driver had committed two previous offences on Italian roads. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to a non-fatal hit and run incident in Foggia, though the sentence was quashed due to the statute of limitations. In 2014, the same driver was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in Chieti.

The driver works for a haulage company based in Recke in northern Germany and he was in Italy on Wednesday to collect cargo from the freight terminal in Verona. After fleeing the scene of Rebellin's death, the driver reportedly made a delivery to Berlin before returning to Recke.

Police in Italy were able to track the driver thanks both to photographs taken by witnesses who arrived at the scene and to footage provided by CCTV cameras mounted on a three-metre-high pole in the car park of a restaurant in Montebello, near the roundabout where Rebellin was killed.

The driver was traced after police cross-checked the photographs taken by eyewitnesses with the identity document the driver had provided at the freight village in Verona.

Giuseppe Moscati, commander of the Carabinieri in Vicenza, told Il Gazzettino that investigations in Italy and abroad had allowed for a "meticulous reconstruction of the movements of the German driver", adding: "We don't know if that will help to relieve the pain that the local and wider Italian community is feeling, but I want to thank everybody – from the institutions to ordinary people – who have helped the Carabinieri in their inquiry."

Before police traced the truck driver, Rebellin's family had appealed for him to come forward and explain what had happened.

"The family can accept any human error, but we can't bear the idea of fleeing the scene. Davide was an expert. We can't believe it was his mistake,” Rebellin’s brother Carlo told Il Corriere della Sera.

His mother Brigida Gattere added: "If it turns out that he really ran away after killing my son, I hope that justice can take its course. No one should die like this."

Tributes to Rebellin have flooded in from the cycling world in the past 48 hours. The Italian only stopped racing in October, bringing an end to a career that spanned 30 years. There have also been calls for improved safety conditions for cyclists, both in Italy and across the world.

[72gmc]

Two priors that both indicate a lack of giving a damn about other people while presumably operating the same class of very large vehicle.

[Hilltopwalters]

F*** that guy. hope he gets his. RIP Davide.

[fignon's barber]

They can put him in the cell with Cipo. How can someone kill someone, get out and look at the body, then get back in your truck and make another delivery? ***.

[ERK55]

Originally Posted by fignon's barber

They can put him in the cell with Cipo. How can someone kill someone, get out and look at the body, then get back in your truck and make another delivery? ***.

Cipo not in jail, at least not yet.

[madsciencenow]

There are not words to express how messed up this is. Thoughts and prayers for the fam and beyond this just complete anger at how this sort of person is on the road? I’m also wondering if this guy was employed by someone as a driver? If yes, how do you hire this guy? I can’t get out of my head the thought of getting out and having a look at the person you just murdered and then driving away.

[72gmc]

The road.cc article says he’s employed by his brother’s company, if I recall correctly.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by fignon's barber

They can put him in the cell with Cipo. How can someone kill someone, get out and look at the body, then get back in your truck and make another delivery? ***.

ya

[azrider]

What a POS human

[choochoo]

So tragic....

[LegendRider]

I was at the velodrome finish of the 1997 Championship of Zurich which he won . I was probably riding the same Mavic Heliums at the time.

(I drove by a new ghost bike on my way to work today. They are always a gut punch.)

[Nevets]

I believe 4 years is what he would receive here (in CA) my friend was killed the same way hit and run, the woman turned herself in the next day, she had prior convictions for drug and driving offences none of which was allowed to be declared at sentencing - I attended the sentencing with another cyclist friend
we both made a statement and asked for the maximum sentence which was given but she was released prior to 4 years for "good" behavior. So wrong its painful.

[flying]

Four years? Really??

My goodness I am not sure what I would do if that were my father or brother or son who was killed like this & then see this so called justice

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by flying

Four years? Really??

My goodness I am not sure what I would do if that were my father or brother or son who was killed like this & then see this so called justice

It's one of the weird factors in the law which seems pretty universal across western societies.

The very fact of intoxication means you had diminishing intent, so instead of murder, it is reckless, unintended act of negligence. Perverse logic, but that is how the law works.

In the UK and Ireland, they have had big campaigns for stiffer penalties to get sentencing extended to 14-20 years, but in the UK it took 5 years or so to get passed which finally happened in 2022. But you need a prior offense to get the stiffer sentence.

In Ireland, they are still campaigning to get the law changed. This is 10 years after the family of Enda Dolan has been campaigning relentlessly. Enda was a student who was hit by a DUI Van driven on a footpath and carried 800 yards on the roof. The driver had 6 pints of beer, 4 jagerbombs, 3 mixed drinks with redbull at the pub and cocaine in his system. 7 years.

(Sadly, examples like this are endless)

[flying]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

It's one of the weird factors in the law which seems pretty universal across western societies.

The very fact of intoxication means you had diminishing intent, so instead of murder, it is reckless, unintended act of negligence. Perverse logic, but that is how the law works.

In the UK and Ireland, they have had big campaigns for stiffer penalties to get sentencing extended to 14-20 years, but in the UK it took 5 years or so to get passed which finally happened in 2022. But you need a prior offense to get the stiffer sentence.

In Ireland, they are still campaigning to get the law changed. This is 10 years after the family of Enda Dolan has been campaigning relentlessly. Enda was a student who was hit by a DUI Van driven on a footpath and carried 800 yards on the roof. The driver had 6 pints of beer, 4 jagerbombs, 3 mixed drinks with redbull at the pub and cocaine in his system. 7 years.

(Sadly, examples like this are endless)

I know right laws can & are weirdly interpreted to the criminals benefit.

About "claimed diminished capacity" same as someone who claims insanity & yet no sane person would commit murder so all murders are in fact a form of insanity same as this drunk knows full well that drinking causes diminished capacity then operates a two ton vehicle & kills someone only to later claim they couldn't have known?

Your right about sad examples & that Enda Dolan definitely