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It’s taken three full years, but Carlos Bertonatti is finally set to admit in court that he killed cyclist Christophe LeCanne in a drunken, early-morning hit-and-run on the Rickenbacker Causeway. Bertonatti told a Miami-Dade judge today that he’ll plead guilty next Tuesday.
The aspiring singer-songwriter sped away from the January 2010 crash with LeCanne’s bike wedged under his bumper and led police on a brief chase across the island. His blood alcohol content was later tested at .122, well over the limit.
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LeCanne’s death spurred outrage in Miami’s cycling community. A 44-year-old father and avid cyclist, LeCanne was biking the popular link between Miami and Key Biscayne just after 8 a.m. on a Sunday when Bertonatti’s silver Volkswagen slammed into him.
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Bertonatti, who had more than 40 previous traffic violations on his record, led police on a short chase before surrendering.
He’s been on house arrest for nearly two years since the crime because a series of delays have prevented a trial date from being set. Now Bertonatti will face between 11-and-a-half and 35 years in prison for the crime, the Miami Herald reports.
Judge Bronwyn Miller will sentence him next Tuesday, when LeCanne’s relatives will travel to the courthouse from France.
(H/T David Ovalle, Random Pixels)
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