The fallout from a fatal traffic accident over the weekend near the Cretan port city of Chania (Hania) continued this week, as the incident involved a drunk driver stopped by police, then let go with a ticket and the co-passenger – who was not under the influence – taking the wheel of the car.
Hours later the suspect was again behind the wheel of his high-powered SUV, even more inebriated and responsible for a collision with another smaller vehicle that left the local 22-year-old driver dead.
The latest developments on Wednesday have the three police officers who released the 45-year-old suspect with a ticket, instead of making an arrest, and without towing the vehicle, suspended.
Additionally, a new head of Greek Police’s traffic department for the Cretan port city and its vicinity was announced, with reports pointing to the current traffic division head for the other major city on Crete, Irakleio, assuming the post.
The new department head is 14-year veteran Efstratia Koulara, who, according to local media reports, is described as the “iron lady” of Irakleio’s department.
Finally, as widely expected by court watchers, the 45-year-old man finally arrested after the two-car crash was remanded into custody on Wednesday pending trial, following a concurring decision by a relevant magistrate and prosecutor in the arraignment phase.
He faces a charge of felony of driving dangerous under the influence of alcohol resulting in fatality.
The suspect, in his initial testimony regarding a charge of disrupting transports, said he was extremely sorry and shattered over the death of 22-year-old Antonis.
Convictions for the felony counts he will, by all accounts, face can lead to a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years, according to the man’s attorney.
The suspect was led out from the back of the courthouse by a contingent of police in order to avoid the assembled family members of the victim and reporters.
Greece’s often lenient and lax penal code, according to critics, was revised after 2019, with cases of DUI leading to serious injury or even death now mandating, in practically all instances, a prison sentence.
