Legal Proceedings in Alicante Over a Fatal Bicycle Accident
In 2018, a provincial court lifted the suspension of a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a drunk and drug-driving driver who fatally struck a cyclist in Villena and injured the driver’s 8-year-old son, who was riding another bicycle. The accused, who will soon begin serving time, pleaded guilty at a November 2021 hearing conducted by Criminal Court No. 4 in Alicante. The owner agreed to a postponement of the sentence on the condition that no crime would be committed for four years.
The private prosecution, led by attorney Cristina Costa on behalf of the deceased cyclist’s family, Antonio Diaz, objected to the judge’s decision. Costa argued that the defendant posed a public danger and that there were no legal grounds to permit suspension. Despite the prosecution’s objection to suspending the prison sentence, the Third Section of the trial accepted the objection and ordered that the sentence be served without delay. This move prompted the special prosecutor’s office to request the court to execute the sentence and to reconsider the suspension, noting that the same institution had previously imposed an additional two and a half years for assaulting and attempting to rape a minor in Villena.
No honest life guarantee
At trial, the prisoner offered scant assurances of living an honest life in freedom and argued that the conditions for suspension were unfavorable. For the Third Division court, the suspension was not proportionate or justified.
The accident occurred on July 8, 2018, on the road from Villena to Biar. Antonio Díaz was fatally crushed while riding a bicycle, and his 8-year-old son was injured. The applicant rushed to assist them, and upon arrest tested positive for alcohol and drugs.
The trial took place in November 2021, with the defendant pleading guilty following a consent agreement between the parties. The prosecutor had demanded two prison sentences, initially four and three years, for manslaughter by gross negligence and for negligence of rescue duty in competition with a crime against traffic safety. After the settlement, the request was reduced to two years and six months for both offenses, factoring in mitigating circumstances, including compensation and the confession. The special prosecutor’s office complied with the request but objected to postponing the sentence.
Defendant, pictured at trial in Alicante, faced the judge as the proceedings unfolded. The court ultimately imposed the sentence according to the agreement between the parties, but suspended the sentence and later lifted that suspension. The court noted that the accused, despite receiving more than two years in prison, could not justify the exceptional postponement and pointed out there was no justification for it.
Chapter Three emphasized the gravity of the crimes, describing them as a harsher condemnation of the facts, while recognizing that the penalties were heavy and that the death penalty had not been applied. The cyclist benefited not from the defendant’s direct payment but from an insurance payout. The court also stated that admitting the facts in the act of adjudication carried an analogical mitigation and an appreciation of confession without further discussion.
Forced sentence reduction
The court stated that the defendant appeared to accept a shorter sentence, noting the length of the term was reduced in a way that, while understandable, could be described as coercive. The defendant had two prior convictions and a subsequent conviction for two counts of sexual abuse and serious injury, as well as a prior robbery before the events in question, though one conviction could be rescinded. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for attempting and arresting him.
While the facts are not identical, the court found that these prior sentences offered little assurance that the prisoner would lead an honest life in freedom and that the personal circumstances cited in Article 80.3 of the Criminal Code did not favor him, so the decision to suspend the sentence was deemed appropriate.