The woman died almost instantly as the 4×4 pick up truck drove over her chest at the popular tourist hotspot of Playa del Ingles, close to the famous Maspalomas Dunes
A holidaymaker has been run over and killed by a delivery vehicle as she sunbathed on the beach in Gran Canaria.
The woman died almost instantly as the 4×4 drove over her chest at the popular tourist hotspot of Playa del Ingles. The 64-year-old woman had been lying on the sand, while her husband took a dip in the water. The driver of the vehicle didnt stop and had to be tracked down by police shortly after the lunchtime tragedy yesterday. He insisted he had no idea he had just hit someone.
The horror accident happened near the famous Maspalomas Dunes, a few feet away from a beach kiosk believed to be among those the pick-up delivered merchandise to. The ongoing police investigation is understood to be focusing on why the vehicle was on the beach outside of the permitted 8am-11am delivery times, and whether it was keeping to a designated route.
Officials have not yet confirmed the victim’s nationality but she is understood to be a German woman who was holidaying in the south of the Canary Island.
A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency response coordination centre said: “A woman has died after being run over a by a quad on a beach in Gran Canaria. The incident occurred around 12.30pm yesterday at Playa del Ingles in the municipality of San Bartolome de Tirajana. She was confirmed dead after beach lifeguards responded with initial medical assistance. Police attended the scene along with paramedics.”
Well-placed police sources said the driver who ran over the tourist passed drink and drug tests. He has been fully identified but is not thought to have been arrested. He now faces being quizzed by an investigating judge put in charge of an ongoing court probe into the tragedy. Police have not yet revealed his nationality. He has been described locally as a 50-year-old who had been working on the beach for a decade and knows the area very well.