A British woman has been killed in Ibiza by a ‘drugged-up’ driver who allegedly mounted the pavement in an accident in which another two Brits were injured.
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.
Spanish police said today the arrested driver had been identified with a British passport, despite San Jose Town Hall officials initially describing him in a written statement sent to the press as Irish.
Police suspect the driver, who well-placed sources claim is 29-years-old, of consuming deadly laughing gas moments before the accident yesterday, which took place at around 11.15am.
A spokesman for San Jose Town Hall, the municipality the accident occurred in near the popular resort of San Antonio, confirmed the arrest yesterday.
The spokesman said yesterday afternoon: ‘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, after initial investigations revealed evidence of nitrous oxide consumption moments before the accident.
‘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.
‘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.’
