Lorry driver arrested after accidental death of ex-professional cyclist Rebellin

Just over six months after the fatal road accident involving former professional cyclist Davide Rebellin, a German lorry driver has been arrested in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The man handed himself in to the authorities in Steinfurt on Thursday accompanied by his defence lawyer, senior public prosecutor Elmar Pleus from the Hamm public prosecutor's office announced on request. The Italian authorities had previously announced that the German had been arrested thanks to a European arrest warrant.

The man is said to have hit and fatally injured the former world-class athlete Rebellin on 30 November near the northern Italian town of Montebello Vicentino with his articulated lorry during a ride. Rebellin, who had recently ended his professional career, was on a training ride. According to the public prosecutor's office, the man is currently in custody in Münster. The senate of the Hamm Higher Regional Court is examining whether a formal extradition warrant will be issued.

He is accused of road traffic homicide - a criminal offence in Italy - and failing to render assistance. According to EU law, the German judiciary has 60 days to decide whether to extradite the man to Italy. If the defendant agrees to be transferred, he must be brought to Italy within ten days.

Damage to the lorry bodywork detected

The Carabinieri went on to say that analyses of the surveillance cameras at the scene of the accident, witness statements and joint investigations with authorities in Austria, Slovenia and Germany had revealed that the lorry driver was involved in the accident with his articulated lorry. It was also established that the man got out after the accident, approached Rebellin, who was lying on the ground, but then got back into the driver's cab and drove away.

After the vehicle was seized at the end of December, investigations revealed damage to the bodywork that was consistent with a collision with a bicycle. The experts also discovered that the lorry had been cleaned with a strong cleaning agent after the accident.

Rebellin was a specialist in one-day races and won the classics Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the German team Gerolsteiner within a week in 2004. In 1996, he also won a stage of the Giro d'Italia. He later made negative headlines when he was stripped of his 2008 Olympic silver medal in Beijing for doping. Follow-up tests in April 2009 revealed that he had taken the blood doping drug Cera. He was banned for two years, but always denied doping offences and cheating until the end.

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