Spanish police have arrested an Irishman who allegedly abandoned the scene of a fatal Costa Blanca last week. They held the 29-year-old after tracking him down through the hire car he abandoned and alerting colleagues at ports and airports to make sure he didn’t leave the country.
The victim of the crash has been described locally as a 45-year-old Peruvian man. The crash happened about 4am last Saturday on the N-322 main road in the town of Torrevieja near Alicante.
Police confirmed the arrest today, although it is believed the man was arrested on Monday. He has since been released on bail pending further in queries.
The unnamed man was held on suspicion of manslaughter and abandoning the scene of an crash and has been warned he could face more than four years in prison and a lengthy driving ban if convicted. Police also released footage of him being taken into custody as well as photos taken at the crash scene.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Alicante said: “The Civil Guard has arrested a person over the road traffic crash which occurred in the early hours of last Saturday morning in Torrevieja when a frontal collision occurred between two cars and resulted in a person dying.
“The suspect has appeared before a judge in Torrevieja and been released on conditional bail pending an ongoing investigation.”
It was not known if the suspect will be allowed to leave Spain as part of his bail conditions or must surrender his passport and remain in the country.