Saturday turned tragic on the Canary Islands’ roads. A 23-year-old man lost his life, a 67-year-old pedestrian is in critical condition and an 88-year-old man is seriously injured after being involved in separate accidents, the first on the southern motorway of Tenerife in the municipality of Adeje, the second on Avenida Europa in the same locality, and the third on Avenida Marítima in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as reported on Saturday by the Coordinating Centre for Emergencies and Security (Cecoes) 1-1-2 of the Government of the Canary Islands.
The first of the accidents occurred after 04:00 in Tenerife when the emergency call centre received information about a person who had been run over on the TF-1 road, the southern motorway of the island, at kilometer point 80 passing through the municipality of Adeje. Emergency resources were immediately activated, and two ambulances, one with medical support and another with basic life support, as well as firefighters from Tenerife and the Civil Guard, were dispatched to the scene.
According to 1-1-2, the 23-year-old man, of English nationality, was trying to cross the road in the early hours of the morning when he was hit by a vehicle. Upon arrival, the health personnel from the Canary Emergency Service (SUC) could only confirm that the victim had suffered very serious and life-threatening injuries, resulting in his death. Road Maintenance Services also arrived at the scene. The Civil Guard undertook the corresponding legal procedures.
Incidents in Gran Canaria and Tenerife
The second incident took place in Gran Canaria on Saturday morning. In this case, an 88-year-old man was hit by a vehicle on Avenida Marítima in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, near the Vegueta market. The accident occurred after 10:15 in the morning when the man was getting out of a vehicle. Emergency services quickly dispatched a standard and a medicalised ambulance, and officers from the Local Police of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria also arrived at the scene.
The impact of the car against the man caused him serious multiple injuries, and upon arrival, the health professionals from SUC provided assistance and stabilised him. He was then transferred by ambulance to the Insular University Hospital of Gran Canaria. The capital’s Local Police took charge of the legal procedures.
The last incident occurred around 17:00 in the municipality of Adeje in Tenerife. In this case, a 67-year-old foreign pedestrian was hit by a motorcycle carrying two people. As a result of the collision, the man sustained serious injuries and had to be transported in critical condition by a basic life support ambulance from SUC to the Quirón Hospital. Additionally, medical personnel attended to one of the motorcycle occupants, a 22-year-old young man who suffered minor injuries. He too was taken to Quirón Hospital for evaluation. A doctor and a nurse from the Adeje health centre also travelled to the scene. The Local Police handled the legal procedures.
Three Pedestrians Hit in Two Weeks
In the case of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the elderly man’s accident is the third to occur on Avenida Marítima in the last 16 days, though at different locations. The first occurred on March 28 near the Insular Hospital heading south, when a woman crossed at an inappropriate spot and was hit by a hit-and-run vehicle. The victim only suffered an ankle injury.
The second incident took place on April 5, southward near the Vegueta cemetery, when a vehicle struck a 30-year-old man who ran onto the road chasing his dog. The man was admitted to the Insular Hospital in critical condition.
