The ruling by the Provincial Court of Tarragona, which had sentenced the truck driver to pay €600 and lose his license for four months, is now final after the Supreme Court rejected the appeal filed by the insurance company. This marks the end of the judicial process for an accident that occurred in 2016.
The incident took place on October 11, 2016, around 6:10 PM, at kilometer 3.300 of the T-722 road, near the cemetery of Vilallonga del Camp. The truck driver, heading to a nearby factory to unload animal feed, began a turn to access the facilities. Instead of using the designated area for changing direction, he drove across prohibited hatched zones and entered via an unauthorized lane.
After a brief stop, the truck resumed its journey at a very low speed, entering the oncoming lane without respecting the right of way. At that moment, a motorcycle traveling correctly in its lane collided head-on with the truck's cabin. The impact caused the motorcyclist to fall and subsequently hit a parked car.
The victim, a 52-year-old married man with two children, sustained severe injuries and was taken to Vall d’Hebron Hospital, where he passed away approximately a month and a half after the accident.
Initially, the Criminal Court No. 3 of Tarragona issued an acquittal ruling in 2020, but it was overturned by the Provincial Court of Tarragona in 2021, which ordered a retrial due to "serious motivation problems" in the initial decision. In the new trial, held in March 2022, the truck driver was fined €600 and had his license suspended for four months. The defense argued that the maneuver was not illegal and was a "simple momentary distraction," but the Provincial Court removed the license suspension in the appeal ruling. Finally, the insurance company's appeal to the Supreme Court has been dismissed.
