Eight-year-old grandson of British woman, 58, who was killed after plunging 65ft off a steep hillside while riding an e-scooter in Benidorm horror crash is in intensive care
- The grandmother plummeted off the cliff at around 4:15pm local time yesterday
- Firefighters launched a two-hour rescue operation but could not resuscitate her
- Eight-year-old boy believed to be grandson has been admitted to intensive care
- The electric scooter is believed to have been a rental and will now be inspected
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Rescue crews at the scene where a 58-year-old woman died in Benidorm
The eight-year-old grandson of a British woman who died in a hillside crash in Benidorm is in intensive care, it has emerged.
The 58-year-old woman was killed in the crash when the e-scooter she was riding plummeted 65ft over the steep terrain.
It was initially reported that a young boy, believed to be the victim’s grandson, was treated for minor injuries.
However, respected local paper Informacion reported the child had been admitted to Alicante General Hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit with injuries that have not been made public.
It also said the youngster had been travelling on the same mobility scooter the British woman was flung from.
It was not made clear if he had managed to cheat death by jumping off the vehicle before it plunged over the edge.
Police sources also admitted they had ruled nothing out and were looking at every possibility including that of the British woman fainting before she had her fatal accident or vehicle mechanical failure.
The speed the British holidaymaker was going at on a downward slope is also analysed.
The accident, which happened yesterday afternoon at about 4.15pm, saw the as yet unidentified grandmother take a sudden turn towards the edge of the cliff before teetering over the precipice and tumbling down the rocky hillside.
Firefighters rushed to the scene in the Paraje de la Cruz de Benidorm, located in the Natural Park of Serra Gelada in Benidorm, and launched a two hour rescue operation across the arduous terrain.
They eventually managed to reach the woman, who was not breathing, and attempts to resuscitate her at the scene were unsuccessful.
The woman was returning to her hotel after visiting the hills’s summit with her husband, 60, who is said to have witnessed the accident and injured himself in an attempt to rescue her.
Police are inspecting the motorised vehicle to see if it complied with all the legal safety requirements.
Firefighters rushed to the scene in the Paraje de la Cruz de Benidorm, located in the Natural Park of Serra Gelada in Benidorm, and launched a two hour rescue operation across the terrain
A general view of the skyline of Benidorm on November 07, 2021 in Benidorm, Spain
Spanish press also reported that the mobility scooter, apparently rented, left the road for some reason and drove off the hillside in a location difficult to access.
The ‘barranco’ where the accident took place is very steep and littered with large boulders.
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‘The fire brigade was sent to the emergency with several vehicles, with the primary aim of rescuing the injured persons as quickly as possible,’ reported informacion.es.
‘On arrival, the firefighters collaborated with the troops of the Local Police of Benidorm and Health Technicians SAMU, who performed resuscitation techniques on a woman, not obtaining positive results.’
A spokesman for Benidorm Town Hall said: ‘The British woman appears to have lost control of her mobility scooter on a bend as she came down the hill.
‘She hit a wooden barrier separating the road from the abyss on the other side and was flung from the scooter in the crash.
‘The drop is about 65 feet.
‘An investigation is ongoing but this is being treated as a tragic accident.’
A well-placed source said: ‘The main theory at the moment is that the woman was going too fast although obviously that is something that is still being looked into.
‘The spot where she went over the wooden barrier is on a slope and on a bend… She was pronounced dead at the scene.’
Officials confirmed the dead woman was on holiday in Benidorm and staying at a hotel which has not been named.
The tragic incident comes two years after Benidorm implemented a ban on the use of mobility scooters, electric scooters and Segways on pavements after an outcry from irritated locals
The tragic incident comes two years after Benidorm implemented a ban on the use of mobility scooters, electric scooters and Segways on pavements after an outcry from irritated locals.
Councillors in the Spanish tourist hotspot voted unanimously to approve laws that also imposed a 12mph speed limit on the vehicles, with £430 fines for offenders.
Riders also need insurance, are supposed to wear helmets, and must ride scooters fitted with a bell the public to their presence.
New regulations further stipulate that only those aged over 55 or with proof of an accepted medical condition can rent mobility scooters after British tourists were accused of abusing them.
A whistleblower at one firm told Olive Press: ‘The Brits often lie to use as they do not meet the requirements to get a scooter.’
Another worker claimed: ‘Most of these are young Brits who want to use it to go clubbing to escape the cost of a taxi.’
Police in Benidorm one month ago announced they were ramping up their checks on the use of the holiday resort’s famous mobility scooters as the holiday season got into full swing.
Council chiefs confirmed at the time police had been told to ‘intensify’ checks on the hire and use of the scooters, which are especially popular with the UK tourists and expats who have helped make Benidorm the Costa Blanca’s number one British resort.
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