Bike lane sign in a Spanish city.
The orographic configuration of the Jaén capital, with a notable slope that separates the north and south of the city, makes electric bicycles a good instrument for urban mobility.
The octogenarian Manuel Muñoz Díaz has been a regular user of this means of transport for years.
But on January 28, 2020, at noon, in the middle of the commercial hustle and bustle, he imprudently crossed the most central and busiest street in Jaén, Roldán y Marín, which has pedestrian access, with such bad luck that he ran over with his bicycle. electric motor to a 51-year-old woman, Manuela Ortega Lozano, causing significant physical injuries.
The old man has just now been sentenced for the hit-and-run and, above all, for having fled and not caring for the victim.
The Investigating Court number 3 of Jaén holds Muñoz Díaz responsible as the perpetrator of a minor crime of reckless injuries with a fine of 450 euros and compensation of 27,806.21 euros for civil liability.
However, the company that had insured the electric bicycle will be responsible for this last amount.
The sentence considers it proven that the veteran cyclist hit and made the complainant fall to the ground, "and left without taking any interest in the injured person."
“Worst of all are the physical consequences of the accident that have made me lose my quality of life, and on top of that I have family responsibilities to take care of at home,” says Manuela Ortega, who says she is also psychologically affected: “I now when I see a bicycle or an electric scooter it seems that I see the devil”.
Her injuries have caused a 30% deficit in elbow and shoulder extension, mild focal neuropathy of the left ulnar nerve, and left shoulder pain.
"There is an alteration to carry out physical activities that require full mobility of the left shoulder and elbow, such as carrying out a significant weight load," the sentence indicates.
The plaintiff required a recovery time of six months and is still undergoing treatment in the Pain Unit of the Jaén hospital.
“Tasks as basic as tying my shoelaces or washing my hair I can no longer carry out,” says Ortega, who also suffers from chronic arthritis.
“In the present case, there has been a clear and evident neglect on the part of the defendant, and failure to comply with a medium-level diligence.
It is an omission of a duty of caution and caution that is fairly enforceable in the specific circumstances.
We are dealing with medium-level recklessness suitable to be included in the criminal concept of less serious negligence, a seriousness that is accentuated by the fact that the person who caused the accident left the injured person on the ground, injured, and left, violating the most elementary duties of citizen solidarity”, is stated in the ruling of magistrate Miguel Sánchez Gasca.
It so happens that the trial has been delayed for almost three years due to the difficulty in locating the driver of the bicycle, the testimony of a man who claimed to have seen how Muñoz ran over the woman being fundamental,
For his part, Manuel Muñoz, with whom this newspaper has not been able to speak, argued during the trial that it was the woman who caused the hit-and-run, and added that he too has suffered consequences due to the vision condition he suffers from and that would have already made us abandon the use of the electric bicycle.
Muñoz is well known on the streets of Jaén as a user of the electric bicycle, which he began to use as therapy shortly after suffering a stroke.
