An American tourist who killed a British cyclist earlier this month while driving on Menorca while under the influence of drinks and drugs has avoided jail.
Philip Rasmussen, aged 47 and from Cardigan in Wales, was killed on Easter Sunday when he was struck from behind by 25-year-old Bryan Leeds on a road between Sant Lluis and Alcafar earlier this month.
> British cyclist killed by American drunk driver in Menorca
Mr Rasmussen, a father-of-three who was chief financial officer at tech firm IQE had been on a bike ride from the holiday home he owned on the Mediterranean island.
The motorist failed a breath test at the roadside and also tested positive for drugs, but according to Euro Weekly News was able to satisfy Spanish authorities that he had a prescription for amphetamine tablets that he had in his possession.
Following his arrest earlier this month, Leeds was released on €10,000 bail on the condition he did not leave Menorca before appearing in court last week.
He has now been handed a one-year suspended jail sentence, with Euro Weekly News reporting that the offence of manslaughter with which he was charged is punishable by a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment.
It adds that in the case of first-time offenders, suspended jail sentences of up to two years are the norm in Spain.
17 thoughts on “US drunk driver who killed British cyclist on Menorca avoids jail”
Quote:
Mr Leeds should be providing advice/excuses to Team Sky…
brooksby wrote:
Mr Leeds should be providing advice/excuses to Team Sky…
I don’t think this’ll hurt my search history any, so after a quick search, ADHD, narcolepsy and obesity can be treated with ampetamines, including these:
(from a U.S. site http://amphetamines.com/types/legal/the-legal-use-of-amphetamine/)
It is now the moral right –
It is now the moral right – if not duty – of the relatives of the victim, to ensure that this pile of vermin receive a just punishment.
Leaving aside the
Leaving aside the amphetamines issue, he was drunk and killed someone, surely this is enough to warrant a jail sentence.
DrG82 wrote:
Exactly what I was thinking. Killing someone whilst drink driving is a pretty serious first offence. Jailing a foreign national was obviously too much hassle
Regarding the prescription amphetamines, surely you can’t drive under their influence anymore than you can drive under the influence of illegal ampethamine. Especially mixed with alcohol. The fact that they were legally prescribed is a complete red herring. But, as I’ve said in a previous post ‘Spain is Spain’
zero_trooper wrote:
I’m not too sure what this means.
I understand that the driver was a well known person in the area and from money, but I don’t think that the Guardia Civil are that corrupt anymore. Let’s not forget that Spain has been using unmarked cycling plod to catch close passing bastards for quite a while, and they have a healthy close pass initiative throughout the country.
don simon wrote:
I’m not too sure what this means.
Apologies, a very basic way of saying that obviously they have their own, different laws. I could have said ‘Spain isn’t the U.K.’ Just doesn’t sound as good. Certainly not being derogatory about Spain, my dad’s from there!
zero_trooper wrote:
Not a problem, as I said, I wasn’t sure.
don simon wrote:
Spain’s KSI rate is nothing to write home about (circa 1600 with a significant lower miles travelled than UK) Spain shows 33 cyclist deaths as of 2016 though this is only on ‘inter-urban’ roads. In Spain apparently a road fatality is only classed as such if the death occurs within 24 hours after the incident, this seems to slant the figures.
Also cycling injuries/incidents are on the increase, this article deals with such things as the Spanish government decriminalising so called ‘minor’ negligence in road incidents. To the point that a hit and run HGV driver who killed a cyclist was not brought to justice when the case eventually came to be heard 3 years later! It’s certainly not all sweetness and light over there.
https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/05/09/inenglish/1494316854_460862.html
DrG82 wrote:
Look into the background of Bryan Leeds. Ten to one, he’s a mate of someone at the US embassy.
I’m feeling rather ambivalent
I’m feeling rather ambivalent about this; utterly astonished that a drunk driver can kill and not receive a prison sentence, and comforted that it isn’t just this country which thinks that killing someone with a car while drunk isn’t particularly heinous.
It would appear that excusing killer drivers, drunk or not, is pretty much a world wide phenomenon, with the possible exception of some European countries.
Revolution.
Un-fcuking-believable!
Un-fcuking-believable!
How can his wife and 3 kids ever get their heads around the fact that this killer is able to walk out of court and carry on with his life as if nothing has happened?!
Christopher TR1 wrote:
Not sure, but I’m guessing they won’t. Not sure I can either.
A cautionary tale for those of us Brits who regularly get some sunny miles in Mallorca, or the Canaries.
I’m in no way defending the
I’m in no way defending the driver but for context it is reported elsewhere that he had 35mg of alcohol in his blood that on the limit for the UK (so not over) but Spain has a lower 25ml limit.
The sentance is also normal not exceptional, although a good lawyer probably helped it along.
I’m in no way defending the
I’m in no way defending the driver but for context it is reported elsewhere that he had 35mg of alcohol in his blood that on the limit for the UK (so not over) but Spain has a lower 25ml limit.
The sentance is also normal not exceptional, although a good lawyer probably helped it along.
IanW1968 wrote:
There isn’t a UK limit anymore and you may have confused blood and breath limits and units.
Scotland is 50 milligrams per 100ml of blood and 22 micrograms per 100ml of breath.
In other parts of the UK it is 80 milligrams per 100ml of blood and 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath.
what’s a prescription got to
what’s a prescription got to do with anything? Either it’s illegal to drive under the influence of drink and drugs, or it isn’t.
This is not a deterrant to other potential killer drivers. Justice for the victims?