British motorist with “no driving licence” arrested following head-on, hit-and-run collision which killed cyclist in Ibiza

A Scottish man has been arrested by police in Ibiza, a day after a cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run collision on the Spanish island.

The 35-year-old, understood to be originally from Glasgow, handed himself into the authorities in San Antonio last night, more than a day after 49-year-old Bernat Ribas was killed.

The Guardia Civil added that the motorist does not currently have a driving licence and that his black Jeep Wrangler was found abandoned three miles from the scene of the collision, the Daily Record reports.

Ribas, a well-known local racer, was riding with a friend on Camino de Benimussa, a narrow, picturesque road in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia, in Ibiza’s southwest, at round 8pm on Tuesday, when he was struck head on by the motorist, who hit a rock with his vehicle while fleeing the scene.

Ribas’ friend, along with another motorist who was forced to brake sharply to avoid the crash, were able to give police a description of the black Jeep Wrangler, which was right-hand drive and fitted with British number plates.

Following an appeal by police, the vehicle was found near an ecology and education centre close to the scene of the collision.

The motorist eventually turned himself in late last night, and remains in police custody ahead of a court appearance.

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A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil said: “The Civil Guard has arrested a British man aged 35 as the suspected author of the crimes of manslaughter, abandoning the scene of an incident, reckless driving, and driving without ever having obtained the relevant authorisation to do so.

“After the accident allegedly caused by the detainee, he fled the scene. The Civil Guard spent all day yesterday trying to locate him and the vehicle, which was found in an isolated area of the municipality of Sant Josep.

“Around midnight the suspect handed him to police at a station in San Antonio where he was read his rights and taken to another police station.”

After hearing the news, which comes just six years after 34-year-old cyclist Dani Vinals was killed by a drunk, drug-using motorist on the island, Ibiza Town mayor Rafa Triguero tweeted a tribute to Ribas, writing: “It’s not only a cyclist on two wheels, because the many lives of many families are on a bicycle.

“We have just received another sad piece of news, following the loss of Dani not so many years ago. My sincerest condolences to the dead man’s family and friends and the cycling community.”