Gervinho behind the wheel 1 year after 'jail' term for running lad over - 7M sport

Gervinho behind the wheel 1 year after 'jail' term for running lad over



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Posted Saturday, September 10, 2011 by thesun.co.uk

Gervinho behind the wheel 1 year after 'jail' term for running lad over
Legal ... Gervinho driving his Audi Q7 this week

ARSENAL footie star Gervinho is back behind the wheel of a powerful car — less than a year after getting a suspended prison term for running over a student.

The Ivory Coast striker narrowly avoided going to jail last November.

He was given a 15-month suspended jail sentence and fined £17,000 for passing a stop sign, hitting the young motorcyclist and dragging him 20 yards down the road.

Gervinho, 24, was not banned from driving by the court in Lille, France, where he played at the time, even though he did not have a proper driving licence.

Pals say he has since passed his test and obtained a full French licence, which allows him to legally drive in the UK. And this week he arrived at Arsenal's training ground in London Colney, Herts, in a powerful £100,000 Audi Q7 — the same model he was driving when he hit the student.

Gervinho, real name Gervais Yao Kouassi, was stopped THREE TIMES without a valid licence during his time with Lille. When he moved to France the £12million star was reportedly given a diplomatic passport, which he then used as if it were a driving licence.

Injured student Guillaume Voltolini, 24, said Gervinho told him "Sorry, I have an important meeting" after the accident. Guillaume suffered a broken hand and ended up on sedatives for the trauma.

His lawyer Jacqueline Leduc-Novi said Gervinho was lucky not to be jailed. She said: "Going through a stop sign, driving without a licence, an injured person — that's a lot. Gervinho was already sentenced in 2008 for driving too fast, on a suspended licence he didn't have."

British road safety campaigners were shocked that Gervinho escaped a ban.

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