MADRID, Spain – A Spanish motorist who killed a teenage cyclist has dropped a lawsuit against the youngster's family after public outrage at the case.
Businessman Tomas Delgado had claimed the parents of 17-year-old Enaitz Iriondo were liable for the damage to his car.
Hundreds of people had gathered outside the courthouse in the town of Haro in northern Spain where the case was to be heard when Delgado's lawyer announced his client was dropping the lawsuit.
Iriondo was cycling to a campsite where his family was on holiday in August 2004 when he was hit from behind by Delgado's Audi A8.
The teenager was dragged for more than 100 yards along the road.
A traffic report at the time said Delgado was doing 70 mph in a 55-mph zone.
Shortly after the collision, a judge dismissed charges against Delgado after concluding that he had committed no crime.
Delgado, whose insurance company paid Iriondo's parents $48,500 in compensation for their son's life, filed a suit in late 2006 to recover $29,400 in damages to his car and car rental costs, the ministry traffic report said.
At the time, Delgado justified his reason for suing: "It's the only way I have to claim my money back," Delgado was quoted as saying by the newspaper El Pais.
Iriondo's parents were shocked.
"It's the final straw, a stab in the back," Iriondo's mother, Rosa Trinidad, said, according to El Pais. "Before the lawsuit we thought the poor guy would find it hard to live the rest of his life with the thought of having caused our son's death."
In a recent television interview he insisted he was also a victim and that the publicity surrounding the case amounted to a public lynching.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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