The fatal hit-and-run accident that occurred this Monday in Seville has left behind a shocking testimony that helps to reconstruct how a driver discovered that she was carrying a corpse trapped under her vehicle after driving more than five kilometers without noticing it. The story corresponds to Manuel Barrena, concierge of the Sevilla 1 building, who heard a scream that broke the silence of the early hours of the day.
“The day was getting light, it was not yet dawn. It was raining heavily. Suddenly we heard a piercing shriek “Barrena recalled, according to Diario de Sevilla. That cry, which at first he mistook for that of a group of students, actually came from the driver of the car stopped on Avenida Ramón y Cajal, who had just discovered that she was dragging a body under her vehicle.
“It was a woman’s voice,” details the employee, who witnessed the scene from his post. “I saw that she was the driver of a car…. I had just discovered that there was a person underneath the vehicle. “.
The trajectory of the vehicle: five kilometers with a trapped body
The events began in Lumbreras Street, next to the Alameda de Hércules. There, according to the first indications, a man was walking stumbling in the middle of the roadway until he fell to the ground. At that moment, a car that had just left a garage ran over the pedestrian.
The driver, who did not see the man lying on the ground, continued on her way without noticing the tragedy that had just unfolded. The body was caught in the underbody of the vehicle, which continued to drive for miles.
Investigators are analyzing a traffic camera that would have recorded the start of the hit-and-run and the erratic behavior of the pedestrian seconds before impact.
The moment of discovery: “Oh, my God”.
The witness states that the driver braked when she received signals from other drivers: “It seems that someone who was stopped at the traffic light had told her“. Upon seeing what she was dragging under her car, the woman went into shock and started screaming “oh my God” and calling for help.
Barrena recalled that the car was “with the breakdown lights stopped in the third lane, under the rain”. Minutes later, firefighters and local police arrived.
“We saw a fireman bending down next to the vehicle. They tried to pull it out but it was not possible, they had to lift the car with some levers. “he says. Once freed, the corpse was placed in an ambulance.
The driver’s journey before being alerted
At the time of the accident, there were two people in the vehicle. After hitting the pedestrian without noticing him, the driver made several stops. First she went to the
She then continued to the intersection of Ramón y Cajal and San Francisco Javier avenues, where other citizens alerted her and everything was exposed.
According to Barrena, the woman was “very nervous” and the agents accompanied her to a nearby bar to calm her down.
An urgent operation in the rain
The scene generated a rapid mobilization of emergency services. Ten firefighters arrived at the scene, as well as several patrols of Mossos, Guardia Urbana and four ambulances of the Sistema d’Emergències Mèdiques.
One of the slightly injured was a man with a cut finger, discharged at the time. The other injured, a man with burns, was taken to the Vall d’Hebron hospital. ARRO agents managed to rescue him from the flames.
Investigation underway: possible clues in the remains
The Mossos d’Esquadra are investigating the origin of the fire, as there are indications that several deflagrations occurred. The agents found butane canisters and combustible material in the burnt settlement, although it is still being analyzed whether their explosion was the cause or consequence of the fire.
For its part, the Local Police of Seville keeps the investigation open to clarify the circumstances of the hit-and-run and determine whether the incident recorded by the traffic camera provides key elements.
Autopsy and vehicle analysis
The vehicle involved, a Toyota, was seized and taken to police headquarters for an exhaustive technical examination. The body was taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Seville, where an autopsy is expected to be performed in the coming hours.
