A 44-year-old man involved in a fatal collision in Limassol moments into the New Year, resulting in the tragic death of four individuals, was remanded in custody for six days on Tuesday.
The grim incident occurred shortly after midnight on Sunday in Kato Polemidia, Limassol, with four victims, all members of a single family, losing their lives.
The victims were identified as Vathoula Georgiou aged 27, her 17-year-old brother Nikolas Georgiou, their 73-year-old grandfather Nikolas Zavrou and 74-year-old grandmother Evanthia Georgiou. The two grandchildren were taking their grandparents home after festive celebrations on New Year’s Eve.
Following the accident, the 44-year-old driver, who suffered from broken ribs, was promptly apprehended and received medical care at Limassol General Hospital.
Pending medical consultation, the man appeared in court to face charges of reckless driving and vehicular manslaughter.
According to local media reports, Limassol traffic police determined, after analysing CCTV footage, that the 44-year-old driver of the pick-up truck had ran a red light and was speeding at the intersection of Ayias Anastasias and Yianni Kranidioti streets.
The collision occurred with the other car, driven by 27-year-old Georgiou, who was executing a right turn.
The impact resulted in the immediate deaths of all four victims, with the fire service called in to extract them from the vehicle.
They were taken to Limassol General Hospital, where they were pronounced dead upon arrival.
No seatbelts
As reported by the police, none of the victims had been wearing seatbelts.
Both the 44-year-old driver and his 38-year-old wife, who were also hospitalised and treated, underwent tests.
The results of an alcotest and a narcotest for the driver came back negative, according to the police.
Investigations into the specifics of the tragedy are ongoing as the authorities are trying to conclude their examination of the incident.
Meanwhile, another freak accident, a week earlier on Christmas day, cost the life of a 57-year-old man.
The victim, identified as Kyriacos Economides from Yiolou, Paphos, succumbed to his injuries on New Year’s Eve, after being intubated at Nicosia General Hospital.
The freak accident occurred on Christmas Day on the Stroumbi-Tsada road.
Two cars had collided under circumstances currently under investigation, leading to one of the vehicles losing control and colliding with the car driven by Economides.
Following the collision, Economides sustained critical injuries and was initially taken to Paphos General Hospital.
Due to the severity of his condition, he was subsequently transferred to Nicosia General.
Paphos traffic police is conducting investigations to determine the factors that led to the initial collision between the two cars.
