Gent –
A motorist crashed into five cycling tourists in the port of Ghent on Sunday. The toll is dramatic: two cyclists died on the spot, three others were injured. The driver, a man from Ghent, gave a positive breath test and did not have a driver’s license. Gino Primo is among the injured. “That car came towards us at a very high speed,” he says.
“I was fifth man, behind four others. We suddenly saw that car coming towards us. He was driving at a super high speed. I knew immediately that he was going to hit us. I decided just in time to throw the wheel of my bicycle up a bit, causing me to fly over the car. The two in front of me didn’t stand a chance and were mowed head-on off the road,” he says from the emergency room.
“The car first hit a rise at a bus stop on the right side of the road, and was then catapulted into cyclists coming from the opposite direction. There is excessive speed, but the exact speed has yet to be determined,” the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office has said. They are based on the traffic expert’s initial findings.
The accident happened around 11 a.m. in the Pantserschipstraat in Ghent and ultimately claimed the lives of two cyclists. These are two 45-year-old men, one of whom is certainly from Lochristi. Three cyclists were injured. Gino Primo among them.
(read more below the photo)
Gino Primo — © rr
“I lay on the ground and immediately saw that it was not OK,” he says. “I have injuries to my head, shin and ribs but need further examination.”
The five cycling enthusiasts had cycled along with the Wippelgem peloton for a while. “The five of us had already completed about 100 km and were on our way home. I know Joris very well. I saw the car coming and knew immediately that it was going to hit us. I lay on the ground and saw that my two friends had stopped moving.”
“You shouldn’t die”
The driver, a man from Ghent, walked around there all the time and was shouting: “You must not die. You must live.”
The man was arrested shortly after the tragedy. Tomorrow the public prosecutor’s office will decide whether he will be brought before the investigating judge. He had previously been banned from driving for drunk driving and therefore did not have a valid driver’s license at the time of the accident. He also now gave a positive breath test.
Some employees of Eastman, the company located right next to the accident site, are complaining about the dangerous traffic situation. “They are playing with our lives here,” they say. “You can drive 50 kilometers per hour here, but hardly anyone adheres to that. There is a zebra crossing, but you always have to be extra careful when crossing.”
© Carlo Coppejans
© rr