THE NUMBER of fatalities yesterday rose to 72 after four more people lost their lives on the roads this weekend. The total is six higher than on the same date last year, police said.
The first accident took place in the Famagusta district at 9pm on Saturday.
A 27-year-old Paralimni woman was driving on Soteras street when she collided with a motorbike driven by 27-year-old Giorgios Kkounou, also from Paralimni. Kkounou was thrown from his vehicle and killed instantly, said police. Witnesses said he was not wearing a helmet.
Just over six hours later in the Amathus area in Limassol, three more young people were killed in a single accident.
At around 3.20am, 23-year-old Vassos Mavratsos and his 21-year-old passenger, Marios Neophytou, from Limassol, were driving through the tourist area at high speed when Mavratsos lost control of his vehicle, ploughed through an electricity pole and hurtled into oncoming traffic, hitting a car driven by 19-year-old Georgios Papachristoforou with passengers Nektarios Nicolaou and Floros Sophocleous, both 17. All three are from Parekklisia, said police.
In the collision both Mavratsos and Neophytou were killed instantly, as was Sophocleous, who was the front seat passenger of the second car. Papachristoforou and Nicolaou were seriously injured and rushed to Limassol general hospital for treatment, said police.
Police spokesman Demetris Demetriou yesterday reiterated his warning that there would be a lot more fatalities by the end of the year if drivers continued to violate the Highway Code.
“We’re going towards recording 100 road deaths by the end of the year,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to clampdown on drunk driving and to drive the message home that drivers must behave responsibly, police have started arresting people for driving violations.
Between 4.30pm on Sunday and 8.10am yesterday, five drivers were arrested in the Limassol and Famagusta districts. Three of the drivers for driving under the influence of alcohol, one for driving without insurance or a driver’s license and another for driving without insurance or road tax.
