Two Belgian bike lovers preparing to finish a 100km ride with friends on Sunday were allegedly killed by a drunk driver who had already had his license revoked for drink-driving.
“He was driving extremely fast. The first two cyclists in our group were able to avoid it, unlike Joris and Steven. “They had no chance,” complained the fifth cyclist in the group, Gino, 57, from his hospital bed on Sunday evening in an interview with the Belgian press Het Laatste Nieuws.
Covered in bruises and stitches after injuries to his head, ribs and shin, the 50-year-old said he was lucky to be alive, unlike his two friends, aged 45, who died a few hours ago had previously died from their injuries. he also trusted.
The group of five cyclists had just left their peloton after a walk of around 100 kilometers and were on their way home around 11 a.m. when a black vehicle appeared at high speed and hit the last three cyclists on a cycle path in Ghent, Belgium.
The 57-year-old man was then apparently thrown about five meters into the air before hitting the ground violently. When the cyclist woke up, the drunken driver shouted to his two friends on the ground: “Don’t die, you have to stay alive,” he harshly told Het Laatste Nieuws, according to a translation by 7sur7.
The latter was probably banned from driving because he had already been convicted three times for violating road traffic regulations, including twice for drunk driving, Belgian media reported.
The two fathers were cycling enthusiasts and their passion brought them closer together. According to his Strava account, firefighter Steven has already covered 570 miles in nearly 39 hours in February alone.
For his part, car mechanic Joris boasted in 2018 that he had spent just 7 minutes and 30 seconds out of the saddle and covered 962 kilometers during a 24-hour challenge.
Belgian media did not provide any information about the charges that will be brought against the driver, who is in his 40s.