First of three ‘Cannon Run’ Brits handed suspended sentence
One of three Brits arrested for speeding in Switzerland during the illegal 2017 “Cannon Run” race has been sentenced to a 13-month suspended prison term. He will also pay court fees of CHF12,000 ($12,100).
Flashed at over 180km/h (112mph) near Wettswil in canton Zurich on June 4 during a turbo-charged road race between Maidenhead in Britain and Monaco, the man was handed the sentence on Monday for having seriously violated the rules of the road.
Visibility that day was clear, said the prosecutor in Affoltern, but the driver – as well as two travelling companions, all three in souped-up cars – did not know the area. Added to this, the offence came on Whit Monday, a day of traditional heavy traffic on Swiss roads.
+ Read about the background to the three Brits’ arrest
The defendant, by running the risk of causing a fatal accident and by engaging in an illegal street race, had faced up to four years in prison. Monday’s verdict was the outcome of him accepting a simplified procedure in which he pleaded guilty to the charges.
The cases of the other two, who initially accepted to go through the same procedure but have since backtracked, are still being looked at by prosecutors.
Following their arrest in June, all three spent almost three months in jail while investigators gathered facts and analysed the cars. The long detentions caused uproar among some of the drivers’ supporters in Britain. The judge said the “relatively long time” was necessary for building the case.
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