A Spanish newspaper reports that businessman Tomas Delgado is suing for damage that 17-year-old Enaitz Iriondo caused to Delgado’s car during an accident in 2004.  Delgado alleges that Iriondo thoughtlessly caused 20,000 Euros worth of damage to the Audi A8 by allowing his body and bicycle to be impacted by the front end of it while Delgado was trying to speed.

Delgado is sorry that Iriondo was killed in the accident, but he also wants his car fixed.

Delgado has not been criminally charged in Iriondo’s death, apparently because Iriondo was riding his bike alone at night without wearing reflective clothing, and was not wearing a helmet.  Iriondo’s family was paid 33,000 Euros by Delgado’s insurer based on the acknowledgement that Delgado was speeding, but Delgado still maintains that the family should have to pay for the damage (plus another 6,000 Euros for the cost of renting a car while the Audi is fixed).

"I’m also a victim in all of this," Delgado said, still weeping over the broken corpse of his beautiful young A8, which had barely begun to live.  "You can’t fix the lad’s problems, but you can fix mine."  I’m not so sure about that last part.

Delgado may have earlier expressed remorse for killing the lad, since Iriondo’s family said they had previously felt sorry for him "for the guilt he must feel" at killing their son.  But the family said their feelings now are more in the neighborhood of disgust.

Iriondo’s mother described the lawsuit as "a kick in the teeth."

Link: London Daily Mail