Photo: motorcycletraining.com
The man driving the car that hit and killed American professional motorcycle racer Nicky Hayden last year was handed a one year-suspended sentence, had his driver license revoked and will be forced to pay the costs of the trial.
The apparently mild punishment for the driver was partly the result of an official accident report which found the man to be only 30 percent responsible for the fatal crash.
In Italy, anyone who causes the death of a person through negligence as a result of violating road traffic rules can be punished with one to seven years of imprisonment, but any sentence lower than two years is automatically suspended.
According to Autosport, citing an expert witness for the prosecution, the man, who drove a Peugeot 206 at 70 km/h in a 50 km/h zone (43 mph in a 31 mph zone), could have avoided the crash had he respected the speed limit.
On his part, the driver claimed Hayden passed through a stop sign and suddenly appeared in front of him.
Nicky Hayden, nicknamed by fans The Kentucky Kid, was driving a bicycle near Rimini, Italy in May last year when he got hit by a car. The crash took place at a local intersection when the MotoGP rider was struck by the Peugeot. He initially survived the accident, but he sustained extensive injuries which caused his death five days later.
During his racing career, which spanned from 2003 to 2017, Hayden rode for Honda, Ducati and then Honda again, his most notable achievement being the win of the 2006 MotoGP championship.
Before that, he won the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship, the 1999 AMA 600 Supersport Championship and was the 1999 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year.
To honor the rider, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and American Honda announced earlier this year they will be building two custom motorcycles that will be touring the United States in 2019 at various events and will be on display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. They would eventually be sold, with the money received for them to go to the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation.
In Italy, anyone who causes the death of a person through negligence as a result of violating road traffic rules can be punished with one to seven years of imprisonment, but any sentence lower than two years is automatically suspended.
According to Autosport, citing an expert witness for the prosecution, the man, who drove a Peugeot 206 at 70 km/h in a 50 km/h zone (43 mph in a 31 mph zone), could have avoided the crash had he respected the speed limit.
On his part, the driver claimed Hayden passed through a stop sign and suddenly appeared in front of him.
Nicky Hayden, nicknamed by fans The Kentucky Kid, was driving a bicycle near Rimini, Italy in May last year when he got hit by a car. The crash took place at a local intersection when the MotoGP rider was struck by the Peugeot. He initially survived the accident, but he sustained extensive injuries which caused his death five days later.
During his racing career, which spanned from 2003 to 2017, Hayden rode for Honda, Ducati and then Honda again, his most notable achievement being the win of the 2006 MotoGP championship.
Before that, he won the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship, the 1999 AMA 600 Supersport Championship and was the 1999 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year.
To honor the rider, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and American Honda announced earlier this year they will be building two custom motorcycles that will be touring the United States in 2019 at various events and will be on display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. They would eventually be sold, with the money received for them to go to the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation.
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