The District Court of Nicosia imposed an 18-month prison sentence for causing death due to a thoughtless, reckless or dangerous act to a 28-year-old defendant, in the case of the fatal with the victim the well-known athlete and cyclist, Nektarios Pettemeridis, whose trial lasted six years.
The accused driver on February 8, 2024 found guilty following a hearing on the one and only charge he faced. There was a long delay in the case since, as noted in the judgment of the Court of Nicosia, although the case was scheduled for hearing until 15.04.2022, however, defendant changed answer from no admission to admission.
Finally, on 24.06.2022, he changed his stance and registered a non-admission in the charge, due to a disagreement between the Accusing Authority and the defense, regarding the speed limit of the specific road network and also regarding the way in which the cyclists were moving on the road. The Court on March 12, 2024 imposed 18 months imprisonment.
During the hearing, 13 witnesses testified, including the defendant. As pointed out in the decision, the seriousness of the offense faced by the 28-year-old defendant was taken into account as well as his driving behavior, which resulted in the death of Nektarios Pettemeridis, while two other cyclists were injured in the accident in question. The accused driver during the essential time was moving at a speed of 75-80 km, while the limit at the specific point of the road network was 50 km.
He entered the opposite lane and hit 3 cyclists
The accused was moving from Agios Sozomenos to Potamia. The Agios Sozomenos – Potamia road at the disputed point was two-way with one traffic lane for each direction. The two directions at the specific point of the road where the accident occurred were not separated by a continuous or broken white line.
On both sides of the road there were earthen paquettes and the road was demarcated with a continuous white line. At the scene of the accident, as the defendant traveled, the road formed a closed left turn, with a slight slope. The point of the road in question was within a residential area, with a speed limit of 50 km. The defendant’s vehicle, after passing a left turn in the road, deviated from its course, moved to the right and, after entering the opposite traffic lane, hit 3 cyclists , including the victim. The defendant’s vehicle came to rest within the cyclists’ traffic lane.
Since the accident, the cyclist Nektarios Pettemeridis passed away on 16/02/2018. His death occurred due to cerebral ischemia-necrosis, due to traumatic separation of the right carotid artery and thrombosis of the right middle cerebral artery, as a result of a road traffic accident. The victim was 31 years old and at the time in question he was in a relationship, with the intention of getting married in the summer of that year, while his partner was already pregnant, a child who was born on 15.07.2018. Pettemeridis has been an active cyclist in various cycling groups since the age of 12.
The case was handled on behalf of the Attorney General, the public prosecutor, Christina Themistokleous.