By Charlie Charalambous
THE DUTCH tourist who killed a British woman when his jet-ski rammed into hers on Tuesday was nearly twice over the drink-drive limit, a Larnaca court heard yesterday.
Alfred Post, 28, from Bolsward in Holland, was remanded in police custody for three days on suspicion of reckless driving, causing death, and driving a jet-ski under the influence of alcohol.
British tourist Karen Isabel White, 32, from Bitterne in Southampton, died instantly when the jet-ski driven by her husband Greg, 25, collided with Post’s jet-ski off the coast of Ayia Napa.
Famagusta CID investigating officer Yiannos Kapnoullas told the court that Post was almost twice over the legal limit when he was breathalysed two hours after the crash.
The officer said the suspect’s blood alcohol level was 60 milligrams. The legal limit is 39 milligrams.
And Kapnoullas suggested that the suspect had rammed into the British couple’s jet-ski despite a frantic warning by the couple for him to stop.
“At some point the husband was forced to stop his jet-ski to clean his goggles. He then saw the Dutchman coming in the opposite direction. The British couple tried to flag him down or get him to change direction,” Kapnoullas told the court.
“But he didn’t stop and crashed into the jet-ski, killing Karen.”
Karen White, 32, was confirmed dead on arrival at a private clinic in Ayia Napa on Tuesday night. She suffered fatal injuries to the chest during the head-on collision with the other jet-ski.
Her husband Greg miraculously escaped unscathed.
“It all happened very fast, we tried to get out the way but he went into the side,” the grieving husband said from his Ayia Napa hotel yesterday.
Post was treated for severe shock at a private clinic in Ayia Napa and kept under police guard until his court appearance yesterday.
Famagusta CID are also investigating whether the suspect presented a driving license before hiring the jet-ski, as is required by law.
There were a series of jet-ski accidents during the summer, in which tourists suffered serious injuries.
Fears about the dangers of jet-skis and water sports in general were raised just over a month ago by Famagusta district judge Marios Georgiou, when he sentenced a British tourist for crashing into a banana boat and putting two British women in hospital with multiple fractures.
“The uncontrolled use of high-powered vessels like jet-skis, which are particularly dangerous, noisy and disruptive, should not be allowed,” Georgiou said, calling for tighter regulations during the court hearing on August 19.
Briton David Whitworth, 22, from Barnsley, received a six-month jail sentence suspended for three years and a £500 fine for reckless driving and hiring a jet-ski without a licence.
The charges faced by Post carry a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment and/or a £2,000 fine.
