A British woman lost her life in Ibiza due to an accident involving an Irish driver reportedly under the influence of drugs, who drove onto the sidewalk and injured two other British individuals.
One of the survivors is fighting for her life in hospital, it emerged today as officials confirmed all three women were from the UK.
The nationality of one of the holiday friends, a 23-year-old officials said yesterday was British, had only previously been released.
The local authorities confirmed that the driver, controlling a Jeep Wrangler, allegedly consumed nitrous oxide right before the incident, which happened yesterday at approximately 11:15 am.
A spokesman for San Jose Town Hall, the municipality the accident occurred in near the popular resort of San Antonio, confirmed the arrest yesterday.
A spokesperson stated: “Today, San Jose Local Police apprehended an Irish driver following a collision with three individuals in the Es Pueto area, leading to one death and two severe injuries.”
“The driver faces charges of reckless driving, driving while impaired by drugs, manslaughter through gross negligence, and inflicting serious injuries due to gross negligence, as preliminary findings indicated nitrous oxide use shortly before the crash.”
“In the next few hours, information will be retrieved from the vehicle’s control unit to provide detailed insights into the driving conditions at the incident’s time.”
“Importantly, due to the help from citizens and the presence of numerous people and vehicles, witnesses and imagery supporting the investigation have been located swiftly.”
‘San Jose Local Police are currently continuing to work in coordination with the Civil Guard and the emergency services.
‘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 be hauled to court today, 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 British woman who died was said to be ‘critical’ when she was rushed from the scene by ambulance to a private clinic called Nuestra Senora del Rosario Polyclinic.
She died at the clinic yesterday, officials on the island said.
Sources at the hospital said today the other British woman badly hurt remains ‘critical.’
The female holidaymaker whose nationality was already known was the least seriously injured of the three but was admitted to an A&E ward at island state hospital Can Misses where yesterday she was said to be ‘stable and conscious.’
A waiter who witnessed the crash and had served the three women a day earlier described what happened overnight as ‘horrible.’
The restaurant worker, one of the first to aid the women and named locally only as Youssef , told respected island newspaper Periodico de Ibiza: ‘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.’
Last month two British holidaymakers were seriously injured after being hit by a car in Ibiza driven by a 24-year-old Spaniard.
Mum-of-three Ebony Cordingley, 26, and her mum-of-two friend Lauren Holmes, 27, were rushed to separate intensive care units following the early-hours accident on the road between the island capital and San Antonio.
A GoFundMe appeal set up by the families of the two women has raised thousands.
Ebony ended up in a hospital called Nuestra Senora del Rosario Polyclinic and her friend in Can Misses.
In an update at the end of last month their loved ones said they had been told the women were likely to have to be in island hospitals ‘for weeks.’
