Driver in fatal Larnaca rollover arrested for reckless driving

Police arrested the driver of the saloon car involved in Monday’s deadly rollover accident in Larnaca, saying he was under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs.

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The driver, a 34-year-old Bulgarian national, was driving alone in his vehicle Monday afternoon behind a pickup truck with a family of five inside, when he rear-ended the vehicle in front of him.

The collision caused the pickup truck to swivel and roll over while the saloon kept sliding for 300 metres until it came to a stop. 

A five-year-old girl was fatally injured in the crash and died as she was being taken to the Emergency Room at Larnaca General Hospital. Her mother was also injured along with the family’s two other children, while the father who was driving was generally unharmed.

The Bulgarian driver car, who was arrested for reckless driving on Monday upon exiting the Emergency Room, appeared before a judge on Tuesday where he was remanded into custody for six days, pending further investigation. 

Media reports quoted a senior police official saying a preliminary test showed the Bulgarian national was driving under the influence of hallucinogenics.

Accident investigators also said nobody in the pickup truck had been wearing a seat belt.

The accident took place seven hours following a similar rollover accident in Limassol, when a driver died on the road in front of his two young children.

He was reportedly not wearing a seat belt when the side mirror of his car struck an oncoming vehicle on Platres-Limassol main road, causing a rollover.