British man killed in Orihuela Costa scooter fall after reportedly hitting pothole
The dreadful state of the roads around Orihuela Costa is a long-standing concern for residents
A 59-year-old man, reportedly from the UK, was killed on Wednesday April 2 after falling off an electric scooter on Calle Baikal in the Los Almendros-La Florida area of Orihuela Costa. According to local reports, the man was thrown from the scooter when he hit a pothole.
Medics found the Briton lying in the street and immediately started trying to resuscitate and stabilise him; sadly, he was non-responsive and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Many believe it was only a matter of time before electric scooters claimed a local life and this tragedy is just the latest in a long string of accidents. On March 28, a 32-year-old man rode his scooter into the TRAM line near the Outlet shopping centre in San Vicente del Raspeig and broke his leg.
And just last Monday, a 17-year-old girl collided with a TRAM on the same route, but wasn’t seriously injured.
Adding insult to injury, Orihuela Costa residents and neighbourhood associations have been complaining about the state of the roads for years. The city council recently allocated some funds to patch up the worst of the potholes in Lomas de Cabo Roig, but this is only a drop in the ocean considering the deep and dangerous gouges drivers have to navigate on all of the district’s main roads.To highlight the risks, but unfortunately not in time to save the British scooter rider, neighbourhood association Unidos por la Costa has created an interactive map that shows 170 black spots in 14 different areas. The information was put together by nearly 100 residents from virtually all of the 40 coastal districts and includes countless potholes.
Based on this study, Unidos por la Costa concludes that in the nearly 700 streets and avenues of Orihuela Costa, there are more than 500 potholes awaiting patching or paving.
They have sent a letter to the mayor of the municipality, Pepe Vegara, requesting an emergency contract to fill the deepest potholes before Easter, given “its state of neglect and the serious risk it presents to people and property.”
Images: GVA/Unidos por la Costa
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