Jail sentence for drunken Belgian who killed two cyclists in Ghent

A Belgian man who killed two cyclists in Ghent at the beginning of this year was sentenced to five years in prison, of which 1.5 years are suspended, writes The Morning. At the time of the accident, the 45-year-old had six times the amount of alcohol in his blood, he was making video calls and driving at a speed of 118 kilometers per hour in a built-up area.

The accident happened on February 25 at around 11 am in the Ghent port area. Bjorn B. crashed his car into a curb here, then crossed the road and hit a group of cyclists. Two 45-year-old men died on the spot, a 57-year-old man was injured and two others on the car escaped.

In addition to imprisonment, the man will receive a fine of 16,000 euros and a lifetime driving ban. The Public Prosecution Service had requested a prison sentence of seven years, a fine of 4,000 euros and a lifetime driving ban.

B. had already been convicted several times for driving under the influence and was banned from driving for ten years. Nevertheless, on February 25, he drove around in his car under the influence.

“The gentleman had 3 per thousand in his blood. We suspect he had drunk 25 pints. This is just crazy,” said the public prosecutor, according to De Morgen.

The prosecutor said the man was also making video calls with his girlfriend and that he was driving far too fast “undoubtedly disgracefully”. reported News VRT. “Under Belgian law, this is still an accidental death, but morally the line between intentional and unintentional is clearly very thin here.”