A final judgment in the court case arising from the 2001 death of Spanish cyclist Ricardo Otxoa will be handed down between March 15 and 18, according to Europa Press. Ricardo Otxoa and his brother Xavier were hit by a car on February, 15 2001. Ricardo died from his injuries and Xavier spent over six months in hospital as a result; he has subsequently returned to cycling as a disabled athlete.
The driver of the car, the director-general of sport at the University of Malaga, Sebastián Fernández is accused of causing death by negligent driving, and causing injury by negligent driving. The statement of facts in the case records that Fernández "partly entered the right shoulder of the road because of a minor distraction," hitting the two riders while traveling at about 80 km/hr.
