A driver, who was nearly four times the permitted alcohol limit, under the effects of cocaine % cannabis and speeding, ran down an elderly man on a zebra crossing, killing him. He received a 30-month jail sentence.

The road incident to place on the afternoon of January the 26th, 2022, and has now reached court and this sentence that was handed down. The family of 74-year-old Juan Alcocer, described the prison term as,”outrageous, ridiculous, derisory, disgusting, and insufficient.” 

Criminal Court XII in Valencia reached the verdict of manslaughter by gross negligence and added a 6-year loss of driving licence following the plea deal that the family felt forced to accept.

“They told us that if we went to trial, he might not even enter prison,” explains the victim’s daughter, adding, “They put us between a rock and a hard place. And we had to decide not to hold the trial and accept those two and a half years in prison, which are derisory,” she said.

Juan Alcocer’s offspring were aware that they would be lucky to get a 6-month, suspended prison sentence against the man who took the life of their father and that a series of appeals could have dragged the judicial process out for another four years. If it did take that long, the defence lawyer could claim as a mitigating circumstance “undue delay.” For these reason, they accepted the plea deal.

“Killing someone in a hit-and-run, drunk and drugged up, is very cheap,” the daughter remarked bitterly.

Amazingly, the driver, Fernando T. is a repeat offender for drink driving and also served three and a half years in prison for assault with a knife. This was not taken into account.

Something fishy about the hearing, where he allegedly apologised but not before the family, was that the judge wouldn’t allow the presence of the press following a request from the family – something that the family denies.

Juan and been on his way back home around 19.00h from tinkering on his plot of land, which was part of his daily walk routine. He was on the zebra on Calle Cervantes in Utiel, when the driver rammed into him in his Mercedes, sending him flying. After four days in the ICU, he passed away from brain damage.

Despite driving with an expired ITV and testing positive in the breathalyser test, the Utiel Policía Local allowed him and a friend to leave in the car with the windshield completely shattered, according to the family, driving all the way to Requena where he later told the mechanic in the car-repair show that he had hit an animal.

The private prosecution requested a nine-year prison sentence for the driver: specifically, four years for negligent manslaughter and five years for driving with a manifest disregard for the lives of others. Meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested just four years in prison in total for both charges for which he was ultimately found guilty.

The insurance company has already compensated the family, so for them it was now about putting Fernando behind bars.

The Guardia-Civil report on the accident mentioned that throughout the entire process at the scene, the accused showed a “cocky attitude, only worried about the condition of his vehicle.” The daughter said he showed exactly the same attitude as he waited for them to come out of the court building in Requena, as if to rub it in their faces.

“This individual’s apology is worth nothing to us; he was drunk and high behind the wheel; that is not an accident, it is a full-blown murder. We neither forgive nor forget.” was the final verdict of the daughter.

(News: Utiel, Requena, Valencia – Source & Photo: Ignacio Cabanes/Ideal)

Keywords: Drink Driving, Drug Consumption, Zebra Crossing, Manslaughter, Minimal Prison Sentence, Injustice

news, valencia, utiel, drink driving, drug consumption, zebra crossing, manslaughter, minimal prison sentence, injustice