"He treated him like an object" - Davide Rebellin's brother launches criticism whilst truck driver continues to avoid arrest
Cycling
The truck driver accused of killing Davide Rebellin remains in Germany. Well protected by the bureaucracy that does not allow the execution of the European arrest warrant, Wolfgang Rieke can't be held accountable for the tragic accident.
Furthermore, a surprising slowness on the part of the Italian investigators also emerges, who quickly gained access to the images of the restaurant cameras aimed at the place of the tragedy. The truck that run over the champion, according to those who saw footage, hit Davide head-on. Rieke's employer confirms he remained in Italy for another 24 hours, yet wasn't arrested by the police.
"If my brother made this terrible mistake, remorse would never leave him but he certainly didn't do it on purpose," told the truck driver's brother in Le Iene. The answer from Andrea Rebellin, brother of the champion, was dry: “Whether it was his fault or someone else's. Such behavior would not be acceptable. There are people who run over an animal and stop, instead he treated David like an object".
From the images it would also be seen that Rieke stopped twice after the accident, looking at what had happened. However, Rieke defends himself, through his brother, explaining that he saw what had happened, but did not realize that he was responsible for it. For this reason, and because some people told him not to do anything because help would arrive soon, he therefore left and continued his work as normal.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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