The last moments of Ray, the biker who died in an accident on A-357 near Malaga which involved a police officer

Friends and family of a forty-four-year-old man who lost his life in an accident involving the private vehicle of a Guardia Civil officer are calling for justice.

Raimundo López, known as Ray, was on his way home on his motorbike when he lost his life on the A-357 road near Malaga city just before 3 am on 8 October after a collision with the vehicle of the policeman who tested positive for alcohol. The serving Guardia Civil officer is being investigated for his alleged involvement in the incident.

Ray’s friend Luis Martos, told SUR that they had been having a bite to eat at a pub near the Plaza San Pedro Alcántara before they moved on to a nightclub, located just a few minutes away. That was the last time Luis Martos and his friend saw Ray alive.

Ray left them without warning to meet some other friends. "He often did that, he would leave without saying anything so as not to cut us off," Martos said. The two friends were supposed to return together in Martos's car, but Ray took his motorbike. When he didn't come back, his friends sent him several WhatsApp messages and called his mobile phone, which was switched off. They thought he had run out of battery power and went looking for him at the nightclub where he told them he would be with his acquaintances, but they had not seen him either. Without giving it any more thought, they called it a night and returned home.

Ray's shocked friends subsequently passed the scene of the accident where a Guardia Civil officer told them that “he hadn't suffered, that he died instantly in the crash”.

As Cadena SER reported on Wednesday, the police officer involved in the accident was arrested by his colleagues from the Guardia Civil's traffic unit and taken before a judge, who decided to release him while under investigation. The officer had no previous convictions and the case is still pending witness statements.

Martos said the death of his friend – who he considered a brother – has devastated his 19-year-old daughter, as well as his wife, siblings and mother. It has also been a hard blow for his neighbours and acquaintances in Campanillas, the district where he lived practically all his life, and for his colleagues at Famadesa, the company he had worked for more than two decades.

Through several videos on social media, Martos is sharing what happened to try to raise awareness of the risks of getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol: "A taxi is worth very little and a life is worth a lot," he said.