Aleesha Hansel
A PAIR of brave expats have told of their dramatic attempt to save a lorry driver who had crashed onto a Costa del Sol beach.
Chris Starkey, 31, and Andy Jardine, told the Olive Press how they didn’t hesitate to help when they saw the truck plummet off the edge of an infamous ‘horror bend’ on the A-7 motorway, in Calahonda.
The British pair – who were total strangers – revealed how they had desperately tried to save the still-alive Moroccan despite police ordering bystanders to leave him and wait for the fire brigade.
Father-of-two Starkey, who saw the crash as he had lunch with his family at the Streets of London pub opposite, said: “I rushed down to find the engine still running and smoke everywhere.
“I was soon joined by Andy and we found the window and saw an elbow hanging out. He was still alive so we didn’t hesitate to try and get the door open,” added Starkey, from WHERE, who has recently moved to Malaga.
“We tried everything… logs, all sorts of stuff. Soon there were around ten of us trying to rip this door open.”
But tragically the crash had positioned the lorry’s diesel tank above the door and it would simply not move.
At this point Jardine, who is disabled, said: “We realised we needed to remove the steering wheel which was trapping the driver’s legs, so Chris ripped off the cover while I tried to stop the diesel leaking into the cab with a piece of chewing gum in my mouth.”
He then crawled in and gave the man mouth to mouth in the cab, until the emergency services came, but sadly they could not resuscitate him.
Starkey said: “You never train mentally for something like that. It’s amazing that such a good bunch of people got stuck in and really tried to help.
“It’s just sad the way it ended up.”
There have been frequent calls to improve conditions at the lethal curve in the A-7, where many motorists have been killed.
The speed limit was recently dropped and speed cameras were introduced, but it is still one of Andalucia’s most dangerous traffic blackspots.
