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British motorist with “no driving licence” arrested following head-on, hit-and-run collision which killed cyclist in Ibiza

The 35-year-old Scot handed himself into the authorities last night, a day after 49-year-old Bernat Ribas was killed

A Scottish man has been arrested by police in Ibiza, a day after a cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run collision on the Spanish island.

The 35-year-old, understood to be originally from Glasgow, handed himself into the authorities in San Antonio last night, more than a day after 49-year-old Bernat Ribas was killed.

The Guardia Civil added that the motorist does not currently have a driving licence and that his black Jeep Wrangler was found abandoned three miles from the scene of the collision, the Daily Record reports.

Ribas, a well-known local racer, was riding with a friend on Camino de Benimussa, a narrow, picturesque road in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia, in Ibiza’s southwest, at round 8pm on Tuesday, when he was struck head on by the motorist, who hit a rock with his vehicle while fleeing the scene.

Ribas’ friend, along with another motorist who was forced to brake sharply to avoid the crash, were able to give police a description of the black Jeep Wrangler, which was right-hand drive and fitted with British number plates.

Following an appeal by police, the vehicle was found near an ecology and education centre close to the scene of the collision.

The motorist eventually turned himself in late last night, and remains in police custody ahead of a court appearance.

> Renewed appeal over time trialist killed in dual carriageway collision

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil said: “The Civil Guard has arrested a British man aged 35 as the suspected author of the crimes of manslaughter, abandoning the scene of an incident, reckless driving, and driving without ever having obtained the relevant authorisation to do so.

“After the accident allegedly caused by the detainee, he fled the scene. The Civil Guard spent all day yesterday trying to locate him and the vehicle, which was found in an isolated area of the municipality of Sant Josep.

“Around midnight the suspect handed him to police at a station in San Antonio where he was read his rights and taken to another police station.”

After hearing the news, which comes just six years after 34-year-old cyclist Dani Vinals was killed by a drunk, drug-using motorist on the island, Ibiza Town mayor Rafa Triguero tweeted a tribute to Ribas, writing: “It’s not only a cyclist on two wheels, because the many lives of many families are on a bicycle.

“We have just received another sad piece of news, following the loss of Dani not so many years ago. My sincerest condolences to the dead man’s family and friends and the cycling community.”

Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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9 comments

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Grumpy17 | 1 year ago
3 likes

I'd bet ten bob this scumbag's story to the police will be along the lines of :

'I wasn't the driver. I left my car keys in my bag/pocket/in the ignition and someone must've taken them and stolen my car.'

So, unless he can be identified as driving the car at the time of the smash, or shortly beforehand, he walks…

Avatar
lesterama | 1 year ago
5 likes

Awful. I've cycled in Ibiza. Most drivers were as good as gold. A few were awful, perhaps recovering from the night before. A friend of mine was also killed late at night, walking home from a night out.

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dreamlx10 | 1 year ago
0 likes

"British motorist" or "Scottish man" which is it ?

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andystow replied to dreamlx10 | 1 year ago
6 likes

dreamlx10 wrote:

"British motorist" or "Scottish man" which is it ?

I see no reason it can't be both.

Avatar
brooksby replied to dreamlx10 | 1 year ago
3 likes

dreamlx10 wrote:

"British motorist" or "Scottish man" which is it ?

"British" includes Scottish.

"Scottish" excludes English, Irish, Welsh.

So, as andystow has written, if the bloke was from Scotland then either description works.

Avatar
Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
17 likes

Utter scumbag. Lets hope the Spanish justice system is less lenient with drivists than ours.

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NOtotheEU replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
10 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

Utter scumbag. Lets hope the Spanish justice system is less lenient with drivists than ours.

Lets hope so. It's depressing that we have so many cyclist murdering drivers that we are exporting them now.

Avatar
Rome73 replied to NOtotheEU | 1 year ago
6 likes

Fortunately anyone British can no longer live in the EU with out permission. So we can control their entry and exit. Once this one has completed his term he can be repatriated to the sun lit uplands of the Unicorn Kingdom. 

Avatar
Aberdeenlune replied to Rome73 | 1 year ago
4 likes

We don't want him back we have enough poor drivers in Scotland. Can they not send him to Rwanda?

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