Axarquía 112: car crashes into busy restaurant terrace injuring seven people

112 incident

The 47-year-old driver had lost control of her car during an epileptic seizure

Eugenio Cabezas

A car drove into the terrace of a busy restaurant in the Axarquía town of Frigiliana, leaving seven people, including two children, injured on Monday evening. According to sources, the driver lost control behind the wheel during an epileptic seizure.

At the time of the incident, at around 7.30pm, the Virtudes restaurant's outdoor area was packed with customers. The restaurant near the old town is next to the road.

Following the crash, witnesses alerted the emergency services.

As SUR has confirmed, the vehicle involved was a white Peugeot. The driver, a 47-year-old woman, lost control of the car while driving along Calle San Sebastián following a health emergency.

Ambulances, the Local Police and firefighters arrived at the scene and confirmed that seven people had been injured: two children, five and 14; three women, 48, 70 and 45; and two men, 44 and 77.

The car first hit the teenage boy, as the security camera footage shows. The boy ended up on the bonnet and was carried along for several metres as the vehicle continued into the terrace, where dozens of diners jumped up from their seats, shouting and trying to move out of the way as best they could.

Witnesses described scenes of extreme panic and confusion and video footage recorded by bystanders shows the scale of the distress as the incident unfolded.

Several members of a Polish family holidaying in the Costa del Sol sustained the most serious injuries.

The father suffered a fractured tibia. The mother sustained multiple contusions and the 14-year-old boy had back injuries. The Polish couple's five-year-old son was unharmed but also received medical attention due to severe emotional shock.

Sources close to the investigation told SUR that "it was a miracle no one was killed", as the car entered the terrace area without braking at any point. Several people managed to get out of the way just in time.

The scene caused a great commotion among residents, customers and visitors who were in the area.

The Frigiliana Local Police and the Guardia Civil have taken charge of the investigation and are now examining the exact circumstances of the accident, as well as the driver's condition at the time of the collision.

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