Grieving relatives of Brit baby killed in Lanzarote crash fly to island as ‘drunk’ UK driver ‘faces manslaughter charge’
THE GRIEVING grandparents of the tot killed in a horrific crash in Lanzarote have flown to the island to comfort her mum and dad.
The four-and-a-half month old baby tragically died after a “drunk and drugged up” driver ploughed into a group of pedestrians on Monday.
The baby’s parents and maternal grandparents were among the six people injured by the fatal crash in the resort of Playa Blanca.
Other relatives of the dead baby arrived yesterday afternoon and went straight to Doctor Molina Orosa Hospital in the island capital Arrecife where the four injured Brits are being cared for.
A source said: “The father and maternal grandmother remain in intensive care but will both pull through. Their lives are not in danger.
“The other two British nationals, the baby’s mum and maternal grandfather, are also still in hospital but are on a ward.
“They were all aware the little girl, who was four-and-a-half months old, had died from the first moment despite their injuries and they’re obviously absolutely devastated.”
Another source added: “The baby’s paternal grandparents arrived in Lanzarote yesterday afternoon and headed straight to the hospital.”
The father of the tot had previously been said to be in critical condition.
Yaiza’s mayor Oscar Noda has confirmed that all four Brits injured in the accident are still in the hospital.
Mr Noda said: “The accident caused seven victims, including the five-year-old baby that died.
“The survivors came from two families, one from Sweden and the other of British origin.
“They are the parents of the child that died and the baby’s maternal grandparents.
“The ones in the worst condition this morning are the baby’s father and maternal grandmother. All the survivors are still in hospital.
“We hope they all recover.”
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the female driver, a 23-year-old British expat named Olivia Brown, will appear in court later today or tomorrow.
Police say that Brown was over the legal limit when her “out of control” car slammed into a group of pedestrians and killed the baby on Monday night.
Yaiza Municipal police chief Vladimir Guadalupe said: “The investigation is still ongoing and could be another week.
“The legal limit for alcohol is 0.25 and this person was over that limit and the charge will reflect that.”
She is expected to face charges including manslaughter and wounding.
Yaiza Town Hall, which covers Playa Blanca in the south of Lanzarote where the accident occurred, said in a statement afterwards she “showed signs of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”
A town hall spokesman subsequently said she had tested positive for both drink and drugs at the scene.
The other two people injured in Monday evening’s accident, also pedestrians, were a Swedish mother and daughter who had only just arrived in Lanzarote.
The younger of the two women, a 34-year-old was airlifted to a hospital on the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria.
Brown, who is understood to live on the island with her parents, reportedly told police the night of the crash that she had suffered a steering problem which caused the accident.
She is currently under house arrest awaiting the charges.
A source close to the ongoing investigation said last night: “She has locked herself in her house and switched her phone off.
“Like the crash victims, she has also been offered professional help to assist her in dealing with the enormity of what has happened.”
Playa Blanca, White Beach in Spanish, is the most southerly town in Lanzarote, roughly a 40-minute drive from the island airport.
The coastline around Playa Blanca is essentially one large six-mile wide bay which is then broken up into three smaller, but still large, bays.
Only last month, an 83-year-old British tourist died after being run over by a bus in Lanzarote.
She had been rushed to hospital in a “critical” condition on February 21 after being hit by the vehicle in the popular resort of Costa Teguise and stabilised at the scene.
And last September, two Brits were among seven injured when a British holidaymaker ploughed into a packed Spanish cafe in his hire car on the neighbouring Canary island of Fuerteventura.