It has emerged that the 45-year-old driver, who killed two cycling enthusiasts and injured three others, had nearly three permille alcohol content in his blood. The accident happened in Ghent (East Flanders) on Sunday.
The driver, who tested positive for alcohol, was speeding and had been banned from driving due to alcohol abuse. His car crashed into a group of 5 cyclists. Two cyclists in their forties were dead at the scene. One person was seriously injured.
The motorist first crashed into the hard shoulder. His vehicle was then catapulted across the road where he crashed into the cyclists. He did not possess a valid driving licence and had been banned from driving on two previous occasions due to drunk-driving. The driver was arrested.
He has been questioned and says he remembers nothing of the accident. “I’m never getting into a car again” his lawyer quoted him as saying.
Toxicologist Jan Tytgat says that to have between 2.5 and 3 permille alcohol blood content you need to have drunk up to 14 glasses of alcohol pretty quickly.
Prosecutors are seeking the driver’s continued detention to face charges of unpremeditated manslaughter and grievous bodily harm, while driving despite having been banned.
