Yesterday in Rimini, Italy, the criminal process regarding Nicky Hayden’s death had another chapter with the Court considering that the driver who ran over Hayden while he was riding his road bicycle is in fact guilty, and gave him a sentence of one year in prison.
But the Court then added that the sentence is to be suspended, and instead the driver will remain in freedom but with his driving license suspended and having to pay all the costs that this criminal process had.
The accusation lawyer had asked for the 31-year-old driver to be sentenced to a year and three months in prison, and the defense lawyer for the driver argued against it, using a video from a surveillance camera that showed Nicky Hayden not stopping at a STOP sign when entering the main road in Rimini.
Nicky Hayden’s family lawyer said that the driver could’ve avoided the accident if he was driving his car at a maximum of 50 km/h, the speed that the law allows for that particular stretch of road. Instead, he was driving at 70 km/h, and was unable to avoid hitting Hayden.
The Police report said the driver had a 30% fault in what happened, and the judge decided to accept that report to justify the one year suspended sentence.
This case won’t stop here though, with Hayden’s family still pursuing justice in a civil process. They ask for a six million euros compensation from the driver, but this case will go on for some time before the courts make a decision.