Mud jammed the vehicle’s front wheels and stopped it just as it was heading straight toward the water. The car had seemingly been occupied by a couple that were reported as being rather ‘the less for wear’.
It was seven o’clock on Sunday morning, more than an hour before sunrise, when emergency services (112) received a call reporting an off-road vehicle that was about to plunge into the sea opposite La Higuera cove, a cliff area along the northern coastline of Torrevieja.
A fire engine from the Torrevieja Fire Brigade was dispatched to the scene and found the vehicle teetering on the edge of the cliff, moments away from falling into the water. Only the mud that had built up over recent weeks prevented the accident.
The front wheels became stuck just as the nose of the car was pointing directly into the void. No one was inside the vehicle at the time. Firefighters secured the area and placed warning tape to prevent anyone from approaching the car until it could be removed.
Shortly afterward, a patrol from the Local Police arrived. Nearby, close to one of the area’s restaurants, officers found a couple showing clear signs of intoxication who, based on the information they provided, were identified as the occupants of the vehicle — the protagonists of this unusual late-night excursion to the coves.
The man, believed to have been the driver, agreed to take a breathalyzer test and tested positive with a very high blood alcohol level. However, it will be difficult to charge him with a traffic safety offence, as there is no evidence proving that he was actually driving the vehicle to the edge of the cliff. No one witnessed him driving it to that point.
The couple, of Colombian origin, were escorted home by a police patrol, as they were not in a condition to make the journey on their own.
