Three dead in Malaga car crash early on Sunday morning were Irish, police confirm

Spanish police have confirmed the three people who died in a motorway accident near Malaga early on Sunday morning were Irish - and say the Irish driver of the crash vehicle is “very serious” in hospital.

The trio killed were a man and two women understood to be aged between 23 and 34.

A spokesman at a Guardia Civil traffic HQ said this morning: “Like the three people who died the driver is also an Irish national, a man aged 31.

“He is in hospital and his condition is very serious.”

The accident happened on the A-7 motorway just after 2.30am yesterday morning, with the car the Irish nationals were in plunging around 30 metres down a steep embankment and destroying several trees on its way down.

The accident occurred near the Cerrado de Calderon exit, close to the neighbourhood of the same name on the eastern side of Malaga city. The vehicle that plunged down an embankment ended up in a street called Pintor Sánchez Cotán.

A well-placed source revealed this morning: “Four Irish nationals were in the car that came off the road and plunged down the embankment.

“Three passengers were pronounced dead at the scene and the driver was rushed to hospital in a very bad way.

“The car they were in is a rental car, a Mercedes.”

Although initial reports pointed to the accident happening after a collision between two cars, police said today it was not the reason the driver of the Mercedes lost control of his vehicle.

A Guardia Civil source said: “The collision occurred after the loss of control.”

The police force spokesman said: “The investigation into the accident is ongoing. A woman in the other car involved was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

“She will obviously be interviewed by officers as part of the probe, which is now being coordinated by a local court.

“It’s too early at this stage to say what could be behind the accident and whether it’s related to excess speed or mechanical problems with the vehicle or other issues.

“But investigators will be able to determine the speed the car was going at.”

A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency response coordination centre said on Sunday as it went public with details of the crash: “A total of three people died in the early hours of Sunday in a traffic accident on the A-7 motorway where it passes by Malaga.

“The incident occurred at around 2.38am when two vehicles collided, and one of them plunged down an embankment near the road while traveling toward Almeria at kilometre 979, at the Cerrado de Calderon turn-off.

“Guardia Civil officers were mobilised along with firefighters who freed those trapped, local police, and emergency medical personnel from the Andalusian Health Service.

“The 061 emergency health centre confirmed the deaths of two women and one man. They treated a 64-year-old woman at the scene and transported a 35-year-old injured man to Carlos Haya Hospital.

A Guardia Civil spokesman said: “A series of technical data will enable investigators to determine the speed the crash vehicle was doing, if not the exact speed then very close to it.

“These cars nowadays don’t have a black box but they have information via computers that is going to facilitate the work of the investigators and obtain certain data.

“The woman in the other car will be interviewed so officers can discover what she might have seen and whether for instance the vehicle was being driven erratically before the accident.”

There is no information at this stage pointing to the driver being under the influence of drink and drugs but well-placed sources said this morning it would be normal for a blood sample to be taken from him if a judge gave permission even if he is unconscious in hospital.

A well-placed source said when asked about possible tests: “If a judge authorises it, and it’s very normal in road traffic accidents where there have been deaths, a blood sample is taken from the driver and kept so it can be determined whether there had been any consumption of narcotics or alcohol.

“Without a judge’s permission it can’t be done but it’s normal practice in these types of cases for police investigators to make the request and for the judge to approve it.

“The sample would be taken by medical staff at the hospital.

“A local court is being kept informed of developments and an initial report about the accident has been handed over to a judge.”

The Guardia Civil spokesman said: "The investigators will have information about where the Irish nationals were coming from and were heading to but that is not information we will be making public."

Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is currently supporting those involved.

In a statement they said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of this incident in Spain, and is currently providing consular assistance to the families involved.

"The Department does not comment on the specifics of individual cases.”

The three people killed are believed to be from Mullingar in Co Westmeath. Although they were on the Almeria-bound carriageway of the A-7, it is not yet clear where they were coming from or heading to in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Carlos Haya Hospital in Malaga, where the Irish survivor of the crash was taken, has not yet provided an update on his condition.