There is still no trace of the driver who killed Davide Rebellin in a hit-and-run collision, with the late Italian’s family appealing for justice to be done.
Rebellin, 51, was killed instantly when he was hit by a truck driver while riding his bike in Montebello Vicentino on Wednesday.
Two days on, the public prosecutor’s office in Vicenza has opened a manslaughter file, but there is no trace yet of the vehicle or driver.
Rebellin’s family do not know whether the driver was unaware of the collision, or whether he did indeed flee the scene in full conscience. Either way, they need answers.
“I hope they find him,” Rebellin’s mother told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera (opens in new tab). “And I hope that if it turns out that he really ran away after killing my son, justice can take its course. No one should die like this.”
According to Il Corriere, the police investigation is focusing on CCTV cameras mounted on a three-metre-high pole in the car park of a restaurant in Montebello. Just out of frame is the roundabout where Rebellin was killed.
Around 10 trucks passed through around the time of death, with officers reportedly focusing on a red truck with a foreign licence plate. Cameras apparently show the vehicle entering the car park from the roundabout and then leaving again after four minutes to then head away via the roundabout again. It is speculated that it was a German-registered vehicle that could have been heading to the Brenner Pass, which leads to Germany via Innsbruck.
Carlo Rebellin, brother of Davide, appealed for the driver “to appear, to explain the situation”, according to Il Corriere.
“The family can accept any human error, but we can’t bear the idea of fleeing the scene. Davide was an expert. We can’t believe it was his mistake.”
Tributes to Rebellin have flooded in from the cycling world in the past 48 hours. The Italian only stopped racing in October, bringing an end to a career that spanned 30 years.
He captured victories at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Flèche Wallonne, Amstel Gold Race, Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, Clásica San Sebastián and Züri-Metzgete but there was also controversy as he became the first Italian athlete to be stripped of an Olympic medal when he tested positive for CERA at the Beijing 2008 Games.
He returned to the pro peloton in 2011, and although the doors of the WorldTour remained closed for the remainder of his career, he continued racing for teams including CCC, Meridiana-Kamen and…
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