Torrevieja Local Police have arrested a driver in his 50s as the alleged perpetrator of the ‘hit and run’ of a pedestrian on Tuesday at the same zebra crossing where a couple died just 24 hours earlier.
The driver fled without assisting the pedestrian and was arrested Wednesday night after offering his own version of the events, a complete contradiction of statements taken from witnesses.
The arrested man was later released after he had been charged by the Local Police, pending his appearance in court.
The accident occurred around eleven o’clock on Tuesday night on a pedestrian crossing on Avda Desiderio Rodríguez in Torrevieja. A man was seriously injured when he was run over and the vehicle, according to witnesses, then drove away without stopping to give aid to the injured man.
The driver of the car involved in the collision then drove to San Javier, where he resides. There he went to the Police to report that his car had suffered damage when he was hit by a person driving another car. However, he was referred to the Torrevieja Local Police where he was arrested after giving a statement that did not agree with the information provided by witnesses to the incident.
The driver told the officers that he had not been the offender, but that the pedestrian had been run over by another car, the impact of which had thrown him into the path of his car, thereby causing the damage.
Witness statements, however pointed to his vehicle being the only one involved in the accident. After his arrest, he was charged and released. The pedestrian is understood to be still in hospital but in a stable condition.
Residents in the area where the two accidents occurred have demanded the installation of traffic lights to solve the problem but the City Council has only put in temporary measures to reduce speed.
