Six-year jail sentence for car driver who killed two cyclists in Ghent
A car driver who hit and killed two cyclists while drunk and disqualified from driving has been sentenced on appeal to six years’ imprisonment and a lifetime driving ban.
The Ghent criminal court made its ruling on Tuesday, after the police court initially sentenced the 45-year-old man to five years, of which 3.5 years would be served.
The fatal collision happened on 25 February 2024 at around 11.00 on Pantserschipstraat in the port area of Ghent. A car driver hit a group of five cyclists who were riding on the cycle path. Two 45-year-old men from Lochristi were killed.
The driver was breathalysed at the scene and was found to have 3 per mille of alcohol in his blood. He said he could not remember anything about the crash.
The investigation showed the man had also been using his phone at the time of the crash. He was video calling his girlfriend and driving at more than 110 km/h in a built-up area, the prosecution said.
Previous offences
He had five previous convictions for traffic offences, including three for driving while intoxicated. He had not had a valid driving licence for almost 10 years but had been able to register and insure a car. He denied having driven the car before and said he had bought it for his girlfriend to use.
The man expressed his regret to the presiding judge during the hearing: “Now I realise everything I have done and I realise that I have an alcohol problem.”
"There was no blackout because you were video calling. You were awake and saw what was coming towards you"
The court was not satisfied with the man’s explanation of the circumstances of the crash.
“There was no blackout because you were video calling,” the judge said. “You were awake and saw what was coming towards you. The victims have a right to the truth. You did everything you could to do wrong. You didn’t flee the scene, but you couldn’t because the car had broken down.”
On appeal, the court sentenced the man to the maximum effective prison sentence of five years and the maximum fine of 16,000 euros for causing the fatal crash, and to an effective prison sentence of one year and fine of 8,000 euros for driving while disqualified.
He was also declared physically and mentally unfit to drive and disqualified for life.
#FlandersNewsService | The scene of the crash involving five cyclists in Pantserschipstraat in Ghent, 25 February 2024. Two cyclists died and three were injured when they were hit by a car © BELGA PHOTO NICHOLAS DE COCKER
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