A 50-year-old Russian driver may face manslaughter charges after a violent collision on the Nicosia-Limassol motorway which killed a 27-year-old man.
Panayiotis Christoforou from Ypsonas and the father of a small child was killed instantly when an SUV driven by the Russian national rammed into him from behind at around 1 am on Thursday. He was in the left lane and was wearing a seat belt.
As a result of the collision, Christoforou’s car collided repeatedly on the metal barrier on the motorway and came to a stop about 200 meters away. The other vehicle overturned and both men had to be cut loose by the fire service.
The second driver was reported to have been speeding and tested five times over the alcohol limit — 111 mg rather than the legal limit of 22 mg — in an initial alco-test. He is currently in Limassol Hospital with various injuries and a broken spine. Samples have been sent to the lab to determine whether there were other substances in his blood.
Traffic police chief Ioannis Georgiou told Radio Active that as part of their investigations into last night’s crash, police were looking at suggesting to the attorney general that the driver be charged with manslaughter — as occurred in the case of a 2015 fatal accident in Limassol. The final decision rests with the attorney general, he clarified.
Georgiou said that police have a testimony that the 50-year-old was driving at 200 km per hour and that other drivers had flashed their headlights to him to stop because he was zigzagging on the road.
Meanwhile, the Cyprus News Agency said that police have also obtained an arrest warrant for Russian driver.
