Crime & Safety
Cyclist Floyd Landis Faces Misdemeanor in Norwalk, CT
The retired professional cyclist was driving a rented car at 6:30 a.m. Aug. 15 in Norwalk, Conn., when he hit a city-owned fence while trying to avoid another car, he said. He waited a day to report it.
Former professional cyclist Floyd Landis, a Murrieta reisdent, was in court this morning in Norwalk, Conn., on misdemeanor charges of evading responsiblity for a minor car accident during which he damaged a city fence.
The accident occurred very early one morning in August, and it took Landis more than 24 hours to report the accident to Norwalk Police, who issued him a traffic ticket.
According to Norwalk Police reports, Landis said he had been at the home of a friend on nearby Shorehaven Road and was driving a rented Volkswagen Jetta at 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 15, a Monday.
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As he approached the intersection of Canfield Avenue and Calf Pasture Beach, he told police, he swerved to avoid another car approaching his lane, then hit the fence.
Calf Pasture Beach, nearby, is a popular spot for cyclists, but it's unknown whether Landis rode there.
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Landis told police his rental car company told him he should report the accident to police, so he called police at 8:04 a.m. the next day. The day after that, police issued him a traffic ticket.
Landis won the Tour de France in 2006, but was later stripped of his title after it was determined he had been taking performance-enhancing drugs.
He was ordered back to court Oct. 14--his 36th birthday--for the matter.
On Aug. 17, police charged him with evading responsibility, a misdemeanor. His case was originally to go to court on Sept. 1, but was postponed until today. He received another postponement today to the Oct. 14 date.
No lawyer has filed an appearance in the case.
Evading responsibility in a case involving property damage is a misdemeanor under Connecticut law Section 14-224(b), which states that a driver who causes property damage must report the matter as soon as possible to police.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a maximum fine of $600. The minimum fine is $75. Those charged with this misdemeanor usually can apply for the state's Accelerated Rehabilitation program, a special form of probation in which charges are dropped and erased from a defendant's record after a period of time (up to two years).
Before allowing a defendant into the program, Judges may impose conditions such as restitution for property damage or community service.
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