Killed by a drunk driver on New Year’s day

A YOUNG man was killed in the early hours of New Year’s Day when a drunk driver swerved off the road, striking the man and his girlfriend, and then fleeing the scene.

The 17-year-old victim, Georgios Mavrikios, is the son of CyBC General Director Marios Mavrikios.

Mavrikios had been standing at around 3.20am with his girlfriend, Agathi Trifonos, also 17, next to a car stopped off Strovolos Avenue in Tseri when the drunk driver careened off the road into them and then drove off.

Police arrested 28-year-old Savvas Savva from Tseri later that morning, following up on statements from Trifonos, who was injured in the crash, and several of Mavrikios’ friends who were at the scene of the accident.

The front left corner of Savvas’ car was dented and the windshield cracked. Police also matched a broken mirror found at the scene of the crime with the vehicle.

At 9am, almost six hours after the crash, police administered to Savva an alcohol test, which found he had BAC levels of 74mg (the legal limit is 22mg). A final test given at 9.45am put him at 44mg.

According to CyBC reports, the suspect did not admit his guilt during his remand hearing later that morning, and he was being uncooperative with the police.

The court heard that when he was arrested, he said, “What can I say? Can the young man be brought back?”

Savva was charged on four counts including causing death due to dangerous actions, driving under the influence of alcohol, and abandoning the scene of an accident, leaving the victims unassisted.

The 28-year old reportedly said nothing during the trial and did not even speak to his relatives.

The funeral took place yesterday afternoon at the church of Ayios Vassilios in Strovolos.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.