BrianTx5

I saw this article in today's paper.

Jan. 25, 2008, 12:45PM
Driver who killed teen sues parents over damage to his car

By HAROLD HECKLE
Associated Press

MADRID, Spain ? A speeding motorist who killed a teenage cyclist is suing the boy's parents over damage to his luxury car, the government says.

Enaitz Iriondo, 17, died instantly in August 2004 when businessman Tomas Delgado's Audi A8 crashed into him at 100 mph near Haro in northern Spain, an Interior Ministry traffic report said. The speed limit was 55 mph.

Iriondo was not wearing reflective clothing or a helmet, the ministry report said. As the sun had set when he crossed the path of Delgado's car from a side road, a regional court found both parties at fault and closed the case, the report said.

Delgado, whose insurance company paid Iriondo's parents $48,500 in compensation for their son's life, filed a suit in late 2006 to recover $29,400 in damages to his car and car rental costs, the ministry traffic report said.

"It's the only way I have to claim my money back," Delgado was quoted as saying by the newspaper El Pais, which first reported the story today. El Pais said a ruling was expected next week.

Iriondo's parents were shocked.

"It's the final straw, a stab in the back," Iriondo's mother, Rosa Trinidad said, according to El Pais. "Before the lawsuit we thought the poor guy would find it hard to live the rest of his life with the thought of having caused our son's death.

The European Union's statistics office says Spain recorded 113 traffic fatalities per million inhabitants in 2004. The average for the 25-nation bloc was 95. In 2006, 3,016 people died on Spain's roads.

AlexFW

Cyclists are dangerous, for them and for us : they should go around by bus, especially in the city (except for those little cities with the centre forbidden to cars like Holland, with the little river, bridges, some little lanes etc.)

This story in Spain is different, but I spoke in general .

BetterMakeWay

How inhuman...

info@trinityautosport

+1. i read that last night and didnt know what to say except "what the hell is that"

nyceric03

Does that ass really need the money I mean jeez he just killed their son :thumbsdown:

info@trinityautosport

and no money could really compensate for the loss of a child...

Russ1974

Can everyone have a quick check before posting ... if you repost something that is days or weeks old and you didn't see it, fair enough, but this was posted just a few hours before this thread.

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=49903

BetterMakeWay

Oooops sorry Mr. Devil

Bud

:thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: You've got to be kidding right? As a cyclist, I take great exception to your comment. I suppose pedestrians are next on your list? People cross the street all the time outside of crosswalks, which according to your logic would make them a danger to cars. Please rethink your opinion. I find people that talk on the phone or apply makeup (hopefully only women!) while driving are much more dangerous to the general public than cylists will ever be, especially when you consider they are operating machinery whose weight is measured in tons. I have been the victim of an assault from people that are of the same opinion that you have expressed and have taken it to the next level. A full beer bottle was thrown at me at 45 MPH, that took me off of my bike and broke two of my ribs! The news here in the states is full of similar stories where the cyclist ends up seriously hurt or killed. I am sorry to rant like this but as a cyclist I find it utterly appaling that someone would take anothers life so cavalierly.

Russ1974

I think you may have misunderstood Alex's point. He is saying it's dangerous - and in the UK I agree. The roads here are busy and fast. I hate it when my kids go out on their bikes, because cars drive too fast. I have not rode my bike on a public road for years, because it's too dangerous. When I am driving, I do look out for bikes as well as all other traffic, but I find people on bikes zip in and out of traffic like they are invincible, undertaking, cutting cars up, etc. Not all of them do, but many of them do. And those that don't, ride along the rode at 15mph whilst big trucks and cars try and squeeze past them, making it dangerous for everyone.

I don't think Alex meant anything bad - of course everybody would prefer the person mentioned in the original post to be alive and the accident not have happened. And I am sure Alex shares my sentiments that the people who threw a bottle at you are sick and should be thrown in jail. But ask most people if they think riding a bike on public roads is safe and I expect the majority would say no. This isn't "having a go" at cyclists, it's just a fact of how the busy and fast roads in today's society are - nobody can deny that having cycles on fast roads with fast cars isn't dangerous, but it doesn't mean we all think throwing bottles at them is right or that they deserve to be in accidents.