Laurence Dollimore
A LEGAL association has demanded an investigation in the death of an expat who drowned during the recent gota fria floods.
Almeria Acoge says it wants to know ‘without any doubt’ how the victim became trapped in his car under a tunnel as it filled with water last Friday.
Particularly, it demanded to know whether the underpass ‘was signposted or not’ and ‘whether or not police officers were at the entrance and exit’.
“From the get go, there have been statements made to the media by the town hall and witnesses which contradict each other,” the group said in a statement.
It added that in the version given by the brother of the deceased, who was travelling with him, he said there was no signage at the entrance to the tunnel from the Ronda road.
“How could that be given that an orange alert was issued 24 hours before?” the legal group said.
Almeria mayor Ramon Fernandez-Pacheco had previously claimed that as police were putting up warning signs by the tunnel, there were ‘two vehicles travelling at high speed which entered the underground passage.’
Almeria Acoge suggested such language blamed the driver ‘on the national stage’ before any facts were actually known.
The group believes this helped fuel racist comments on social media against the victim, who was from Senegal.
He was labelled ‘negligent’ and accused of having a ‘lack of respect for education and humanity.’
The man had lived in Almeria for 20 years and worked in hotel El Toyo.
He was driving to work at dawn as he did everyday when became stuck under the tunnel.
“We await the prompt investigation of the facts both through justice and the different administrations to clarify the whole truth,” the legal association said.
