According to a prosecutor, the arrested cycling spectator who caused a mass pile-up at the Tour de France has told investigators she feels ashamed of her “stupidity” and is worried about the huge public interest in her case.
The 30-year-old female spectator, who has not been named, was arrested on Wednesday, five days after the pile-up on Saturday that left dozens of cyclists nursing cuts and bruises and one with fractured hands.
She was caught on camera holding up a large cardboard sign during the first stage of the race. Riding on the outside of the packed peloton, German cyclist Tony Martin was unable to avoid a collision with the sign and the ensuing pile-up led to a five-minute delay as riders and bikes were untangled.
The accident sparked a debate about safety and spectator conduct at the Tour de France, where fans are allowed to line the roads, but has also inflamed passions and led to widespread abuse of the woman on social media.
Earlier on Thursday, the organizer of the Tour de France race said that it was withdrawing its legal complaint against her, saying that the incident has been blown out of proportion.
Tony Martin had called earlier for a severe punishment for the woman, saying that, “Not only did she fail to stick around and help us get up from the floor; she didn’t present herself to the police or present her excuses”.
Martin is still in the Tour but Spain’s Marc Soler is one of the riders who had to leave after the crash in which he fractured both hands.
Soler made a statement on Wednesday that he intended to lodge an official complaint about the woman, saying that, “People come to the race to mess around and at the end of the day they go home all right, but we cyclists pay for it with our bodies,” he said.
Source: MSN
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