Police refute coverup in 2012 road death

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Cyprus police intervened to end speculation over an alleged cover-up of a teenager’s unresolved and forgotten road fatality in 2012, allegedly involving high-profile individuals.

In a statement, the police refuted any attempt of a coverup, saying the persons “photographed” in social media posts did not, at the time, own motor vehicles of the same type, make or colour as the vehicle involved in the crash.

“The Police carried out extensive inquiries and evaluated every available piece of information brought to their attention, but the vehicle involved was not identified,” said the announcement.

The Police said that witnesses reported that a female driver was at the wheel with no passengers on board.

The perceived conspiracy revisited the public sphere after more than a decade when a tweet from a known political parody account went viral suggesting there was a plot to protect politically exposed persons.

The well-known Twitter account, Jho Low, the Presidential Godchild, posted a tweet on Sunday with information about an unresolved road death in 2012, suggesting there was a police cover-up in the death of 17-year-old Andreas Loizou.

“So, here is a brain teaser.

“Who was the ‘unknown woman’ who was partying with which female friend at a club until 5 am and drove while intoxicated her convertible causing an accident and the death of a 17-year-old and then disappeared,” the account tweeted.

It also drew connections with a police official serving at the Limassol Traffic Department and an accident lawyer in Limassol, who went on to serve in high posts.

Following the tweet going viral, other online insinuations made references to political figures, including former justice minister Emily Yiolitis, who may have been at a club partying with the “unknown woman”.

Yiolitis, a former Justice Minister and a corporate lawyer in Limassol, called the tweet “a very serious accusation”.

She tweeted: “I had nothing to do with a road fatality, and I call on those who published or reposted to prove or apologise.”

The collision was on 2 September 2012 on a road in Mouttagiaka, Limassol district, when a car driven by a 21-year-old male in the opposite direction veered off the lane to avoid a car coming towards him and struck a moped.

As a result, 17-year-old Andreas Loizou lost his life after succumbing to his injuries at Limassol General.

Loizou was a passenger on one of two mopeds on the road.

According to a police incident report, the male driver said he veered left to avoid a white Audi convertible A3 or A4 driven by an unknown female who entered his lane to overtake two mopeds.

In his effort to swing back into his lane, the driver struck the moped.

Mystery car

The tweet that turned the spotlight on the forgotten crash claimed that the reports had been taken down from police online archives.

Asked by Politis Radio, Police spokesperson Christos Andreou confirmed the incident report was not posted online but rejected allegations of a cover-up.

He argued that the reports were missing because of an error due to an upgrade of the website.

Politis newspaper journalist Manolis Kalantzis also tweeted that he had been looking into the crash but could not get to the bottom of what he described as “an orphan case.”

“Rumours over the 2012 fatal accident implicate the Police in a cover-up.

“We are waiting for the police to see the file to decide over their actions,” tweeted Kalantzis.

He questioned police claims that they could not identify the car involved.

“Has there been another fatal hit-and-run accident recorded in the past 20 years, and the driver was not identified?

“There is only one answer, and the Police must give it today.

“Police must clear up what happened with the road fatality in 2012.

“I have been trying for a year to crack this case open and always hit a wall or mouths were kept shut.”