Padua, the former Olympic cycling champion took 9 points in the lead: «The rudeness and unawareness of having a weapon that can kill are now a constant»
The photo with a flashy plaster on his head and a long post on Instagram to talk about an accident whose consequences they did not prove to be more serious only because of the athletic skills that were never lost. Silvio Martinello, 62 year old former professional cyclist with around his neck the Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold and today an esteemed Rai commentator, on Wednesday morning he was hit on the pedestrian crossing a few steps from his home while he was walking with his dog in Selvazzano Dentro (Padua).
The impact and the rush to hospital
Around 7 am Martinello was crossing a pedestrian crossing in via Padova with Hug, the 4-legged companion to whom he is very attachedwhen he was hit by a car: «The dynamics were simple. The car stopped to give me the right of way on my left side, I started crossing and from the opposite side a car arrived at a modest speed. I thought it would stop, but no.” To save the Olympian, pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia and recent candidate to the presidency of the Italian Cycling Federation, were the reflexes and a leap: «The impact was violent but in any case partly limited by the my readiness to tense up and literally jump on the hood of the car which threw me a couple of meters away.” Martinello was transported to hospital where 9 stitches were applied to his head: radiographic examinations excluded fractures but the blows made themselves felt as the hours passed. «Today (Thursday, ed.) is even worse than yesterday- tells-. My lower body was saved from the jump, which surprised even the emergency room doctors.” Hug also had no consequences other than a great scare like his master.
The vehicle is not insured
The findings of the police forces they allowed us to discover how the vehicle that hit him was not insured. «I use the car when strictly necessary, I am a frequent pedestrian and cyclist for my errands. I frequent sidewalks and cycle pathspedestrian crossings and dangerous passages and I am helped by the eye developed over many years of competitions but I see things that lead to asking me how many people have definitively lost common sense.”
Reflection
The former track racer, who two weeks ago recalled the road homicide that cost the life of former professional Davide Rebellin, concludes with a reflection: «What else needs to be done to force drivers to respect the highway code and live spaces reasonably? The prevailing rudeness and unawareness of having a weapon in our hands that can kill are now a constant in our lives. We really can’t take it anymore. Until today I talked about it without having had a personal experience, but still had my own humble part to raise public awarenessnow that I have been directly involved the commitment will be even greater.”
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