German truck driver sentenced to four years in prison for Rebellin’s death

Rome: An Italian court on Monday sentenced a German truck driver to four years in prison for causing the death of Italian professional cyclist Davide Rebellin in a road accident, the Italian press reported.

Wolfgang Rieke, 64, was charged in Vincenza court with involuntary manslaughter and failure to assist a person in danger.

Rebellin was training on his bike on November 30, 2022, when he was hit by Rieke’s truck at a roundabout in Montebello Vicentino in northeastern Italy.

The German, who had been unable to stop, was tracked down by camera footage and eventually arrested by the German police in June 2023.

Rebellin died at the scene. He was 51 and still rides professionally. His tragic death caused an outpouring of emotion in the world of cycling and Italian sport.

Rebellin was a leading specialist in one-day classics in the early 2000s, winning the Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Amstel Gold Race three times.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he claimed silver in the men’s road race, but months later tested positive for the performance enhancer EPO, leading to his disqualification and a two-year ban.