Coach driver says car was travelling “very fast”

The driver of the coach involved in the crash in Minorca with 25 Britons on board, said yesterday that the other vehicle involved in the crash, a Renault Megane, “was travelling very fast, around 120 kilometres per hour,” when it shot across the “T” junction and into the path of the coach just after midnight on Wednesday. Juan Carlos Díaz Petrus was discharged from hospital on Thursday night and yesterday said that “everything happened very quickly and the impact was powerful.” According to the driver the vehicle hit the front of the coach on the right-hand side and that knocked the coach off balance and over on to its side. Most of the 27 British tourists and travel representatives injured in the accident were discharged from Minorcan clinics yesterday morning and started returning home to the UK. A group of 12 were however still under observation yesterday and doctors said they were improving well. Two of the Britons still in hospital are stable. Tina Holmes and Geraldine Tracy were air lifted to Palma for specialist treatment on Thursday and were said to be stable yesterday. The British Honorary Vice-Consul in Minorca, Deborah Hellyer, yesterday praised the efforts of the emergency services saying they acted with “great professionalism and organisation.” On behalf of the injured passengers, Hellyer also thanked medical staff and the quick work of the emergency service at the scene for the quick evacuation of the coach.