As the traffic police is seeking the causes of the incredible accident on Sunday, several scenarios and speculations are circulating on Greek media and websites – not to mention the comments posted on social media. At the same time, the father of the family that was killed in the crash implies that the Porsche was involved in a “car race” with another vehicle.
The traffic police reportedly evaluates footage from three security highway cameras, at the accident spot but also 15km before it. Police lays value to the testimony of the driver of another vehicle that passed the accident spot 16 seconds after the strong collision took the lives of four people.
Police is investigating among others what preceded before the Porsche went off the highway, entered the parking area, drifted for several meters in high speed and out of control and crashed on the parked Honda Civic . How comes that the driver lost control of the car?
In all three videos, the high speed is visible.
Several experts but also an alleged eyewitness told media, they estimated the speed at 180km/hour to more than 200km/hour.
State ERT TV reported that the average speed of the Porsche was 187km/hour in the last 50 km between the Afidnes tolls and the accident spot.
Police is expected to request access to driver’s mobile date to see if he was speaking on the phone.
It is difficult to go through all the scenarios as information, speculations, suggestions and even alleged testimonies are often conflicting.
One website claims that the Porsche was moving on the left lane and that the driver pressed on the brakes, while a private TV channel reports that the Porsche was moving on the right lane and that the driver pressed the brakes 40 meters before the parking entrance.
So far, there has been no official statement by the Traffic Police, that investigates the area inch by inch.
Based on media information, police investigates among others: whether the driver had consumed alcohol, the state of the breaks and the tires, the state of the highway (slippery due to light rain?)
Porsche passengers Giorgos Vakakis and his friend were immediately killed and so were the 33-year-old mother, the 3-year old son and the small family dog.
Some leaked pictures show that the tires were made in 2006.
A journalist said that the tires were possible winter tires and therefore not much used since 2006. He added that winter tires cannot operate in vehicle speed over 180km/h. “They get burned,” he told E TV on Monday evening.
The driver of the Porsche and his friend were heading to the winter resort of Arachova in central Greece and it is possible that the car had winter tires.
Another expert said that a vehicle at such a high speed needs 75 m to stop after the driver presses on the brakes.
The most important question though seems to be whether the driver was able to deal with such a vehicle at such a high speed.
High speed is considered to be the major factor in the accident.
Although not officially confirmed, media report that it was most probably the 24-year-old Giorgos Vakakis, son of a successful Greek businessman, the owner of Jumbo stores, who was driving the car.
The Porsche belonged to his father, and he took it to go for the short trip to Arachova. Media report that the son was studying in Maiami, Florida, and he was on short vacation in Greece.
The tragic father
Tragic is the figure of the 41-year-old owner of the Honda Civic who saw his wife, 33, and their 3-year-old child in flames.
The family was driving form Athens to Prolemaida to spend the last Carnival day and the Clean Monday celebrations in their home town. At the 87-km of Athens-Lamia highway, they made a stop so that the driver uses the rest room.
He told media, that while in the rest room, he heard a loud noise and thought that the rest room exploded.
“Suddenly all lights went off, I hear a huge bang, fire, smoke, I thought the explosion was inside the toilet. I could not breathe. I put a handkerchief in front of my nose to avoid inhaling smoke and rushed outside. I wanted to tell my wife, hey, little girl, look what happened to me,” the father describes the moments in the rest room, while his family outside is been torn apart. “I went outside to see my family burned.”
According to the father, another car arrived after the crash, a grey Audi R8 with a young driver. The Audi driver asked the father whether he needed help.
The father implied that both cars were possibly involved in some kind of car race or it was just coincidence.
Car Race?
A video shot a couple of minutes after the crash from the opposite highway lane.
According to news website NewsIt.gr, the Audi can be seen in the parking area.
However, later another eye-witness told Epsilon TV that the Audi arrived later than the father had thought.
The father was in a shock and probably a bit confused about the time.
Outrage on social media
The fact that the speeding Porsche caused this tragedy triggered an outrage on Greek social media. Hundreds of Greeks blamed in one voice the “spoiled rich kid” who caused the fatal accident due to “reckless driving” and “foolish behavior.”
Statistics
387 people have lost their lives in traffic accidents in Greece’s roads in the first half of 2016. 440 people were seriously injured and 6,191 people were light injured.
In January 2017, in the prefecture of Attica, 364 traffic accidents killed 17 people, injured seriously 14 and light 417.
Five people per day lose their lives in car accidents in Greece’s streets. 20,000 people suffer injuries per year.
It is the lack of driving culture and the Greek driver who thinks he is the king of the Greek roads. Female drivers are not exempted.
On 18 February 2016, popular Greek singer Pantelis Pantelidis, 33, was killed in a car crash after a long night. Toxicological tests found a large amount of alcohol in his blood. His family has been claiming that he was not the driver.
Additional sources: protothema, skai tv and others.
