The Famagusta District Court in Paralimni placed the 22-year-old driver of a pickup truck under three-day detention following a rollover crash that occurred in the early hours of Saturday in the Kalo Chorio (Kakoratzias) area, resulting in the death of 17-year-old Aliki Nicolaou from Lympia.
The young man tested positive in a preliminary alcohol check, showing a reading of 37 mg. He is suspected of several offences, including causing death by negligence, careless and reckless acts, refusal or avoidance of a breath sample for the final alcohol test, and dangerous condition of vehicle parts in a car without a fitness certificate and without a road tax licence, which had been suspended by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. He was initially arrested for a flagrant offence after failing to provide a satisfactory breath sample during the final alcohol test.
According to Philenews information, preliminary police investigations indicate that the driver of the pickup truck was travelling at high speed.
Five friends, including the driver, were in the car after socialising at an establishment in Zygi. The 22-year-old was driving them back to their homes, as some were from villages in the Nicosia district and some from the Larnaca district. Besides the driver, the other passengers in the fatal vehicle were 17-year-old Aliki, who was in the back seat, along with another 17-year-old, a 17-year-old girl, and a 22-year-old.
The driver was heading on the road from Kofinou towards the Limassol-Nicosia motorway. Around 2:30 a.m., at the entrance to the motorway heading towards Nicosia, the young man lost control of the vehicle, swerved off the road, and crashed into a safety railing under circumstances still under investigation. The pickup then overturned.
Police and Fire Service members rushed to the scene. Firefighters intervened to free the 17-year-old victim. An ambulance crew transported her to Larnaca General Hospital, where the 17-year-old tragically died. The remaining passengers sustained minor injuries, received first aid at Larnaca General Hospital, and were discharged.
Larnaca Traffic Police will take statements from all occupants of the vehicle and will continue investigations to clarify the circumstances of the tragic accident that has plunged Lympia into mourning.
The 17-year-old was an active member of EDON (United Democratic Youth Organisation) and the Philanthropic Band of Olympia Lympia. Local popular organisations in Lympia expressed deep sadness over the untimely death of the minor, announcing that due to the mourning period, the EDON regional feast scheduled for today in Pera Chorio is cancelled. Furthermore, the solidarity event for the Palestinian People, which included graffiti at the Adonis Idaliou stadium, was postponed until Saturday, 6 December.
The exact causes of the 17-year-old’s death will be determined tomorrow during the legally required post-mortem examination of her body.