Magistrate Bartomeu Mesquida, who presides over court number 2 in Mahon, has opened an investigation to determine the cause of the traffic accident in Minorca last Wednesday. Twenty-seven people, most of them British tourists, were injured when the coach was involved in a collision with a Renault Megane and rolled over on to its side. Most of the injured passengers have been discharged from hospital or are under observation, but none is in a serious condition. Those who have left hospital are flying home through the British tour operator Airtours. he Guardia Civil traffic police report says that the accident may have been caused by him failing to respect a stop sign at the junction of the Es Mighorn and the main roads. Hospital sources say that his condition is not serious and he will be discharged within 48 hours. The traffic police were unable to give him a breathalyser test as he was evacuated to hospital. One of the British tourists, named as Margaret Stewart, aged 69, has been transfered to Son Dureta hospital in Palma, not because her condition has worsened but because she needs a facial operation which is not performed in Minorca. The coach driver, Juan Carlos Diaz Petrus was discharged from hospital on Thursday. On Friday, he told reporters that the Renault was travelling very fast, at about 120 kilometres per hour. The hospital patients were visited by Deborah Hellyer, the British Honorary Vice-Consul, and Joana Barceló, the president of the Council of Majorca. Deborah Hellyer praised the efforts of the emergency service and the medical staff.
Maó court to investigate accident