A 17-year-old Maltese youth who stands accused of killing a cyclist in a traffic accident in Poland was driving a rental car he took without permission, a Polish court heard on Wednesday.
The underage driver was arrested by police on Sunday afternoon, after he lost control of a Mercedes hatchback while on a curve and veered into the opposite lane, hitting a 77-year-old cyclist and killing him on the spot.
He was arraigned in court on Wednesday and charged with breaking traffic laws and causing a fatal accident through recklessness. He was sober at the time of the incident, according to Polish news outlet Warszawa Wyborcza.
Prosecutors told the court that he had admitted to the crime and that he was cooperating with investigators. He remains in preventative custody.
The youth is the son of a Maltese man who runs a business in Poland, and regularly visits his father there.