crash

The three tourists hit by an SUV driven by an Irishman when it mounted the pavement near Ibiza’s popular resort of San Antonio on Sunday are all believed to be from the UK.

One woman died in the hospital from her injuries, while two others are being treated for their injuries. One of these remains in a serious condition.

The incident happened at 11.15am at Es Pouet Beach, a short drive from the popular resort of San Antonio.

Their nationalities of the victims have not yet been revealed, but they have been described locally as “foreign tourists” who were walking together on the pavement when they were struck.

Confirming they were on holiday together and increasing the likelihood they all came from the UK, a waiter at a nearby eatery who witnessed the accident revealed that overnight they had eaten at his restaurant on Saturday and described them as “very friendly.”

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The restaurant worker, one of the first to aid the women and named locally only as Youssef, told respected island newspaper Periodico de Ibiza: “It was horrible. First, we heard a loud bang, then we saw the lamppost the car had knocked down and one of the girls flying through the air before landing on the road.

“Two of them were in a very bad way, one was bleeding heavily, and the third was in shock.”

He and colleagues placed flowers at the scene of the tragedy as a tribute to the woman who died and to support the other two.

A spokesman for San Jose Town Hall, the municipality in which the accident occurred, confirmed the arrest of the driver of the Wrangler Jeep SUV yesterday and said he is an Irish national.

The spokesman said yesterday afternoon: “San Jose Local Police today arrested an Irish driver after he hit three people in the Es Pueto area, resulting in one fatality and two serious injuries.

“The detainee was accused of reckless driving, driving under the influence of drugs, manslaughter due to gross negligence and serious injury due to gross negligence.

“In the coming hours, data will be extracted from the vehicle’s control unit, which will provide quantitative information about the driving at the time of the incident.

“It should be noted that citizen cooperation and the large number of people and vehicles in the area have facilitated the location of witnesses and images that are assisting the investigation.

“San Jose Local Police are currently continuing to work in coordination with the Civil Guard and the emergency services.

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“San Jose Town Council would also like to express its gratitude to the Sant Antonio Local Police for their swift and professional collaboration during the incident.”

The suspect, who has yet to be named, is understood to be aged 30. He spent the night in police custody and is expected to appear before the court on Monday, although police can hold him for up to 72 hours from the time of arrest before they have to free him or hand him over to a judge for further questioning.

It is not yet clear whether he lives on the island or was holidaying in Ibiza.

The private clinic where the most seriously-injured of the two women were taken, including the one who later died, has yet to comment on their nationalities and San Jose town hall officials said yesterday they could not comment on where they were from.

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