Voula: 39-year-old motorcyclist clinically dead

The 39-year-old motorcyclist who was seriously injured on the evening of Tuesday 18 August in Voula has been declared clinically dead, according to information published on Wednesday 19 August by the news outlet Lawandorder.gr. The crash had occurred on Karamanlis Avenue, in the carriageway running from Piraeus towards Vari, at the level of the Voula PIKPA. According to what has become known from the authorities, the driver of a taxi attempted a U-turn and struck the motorcyclist, who was travelling normally in the carriageway heading towards Glyfada. The 39-year-old was taken by ambulance to the Asklipieio hospital in Voula, where he was in a serious condition from the outset.

According to the same information, competent sources report that the organ donation procedure is to be followed. Clinical death, that is the irreversible cessation of brain function, is established in Greece by a special three-member committee of doctors under a specific, standardised procedure, and it is the only condition under which the removal of organs from a deceased donor is permitted. The decision requires the family’s consent, unless the deceased had expressly declared their wishes in the National Donor Registry. The health authorities have made no announcement about this particular incident. The National Transplant Organisation coordinates the procedure and determines the allocation of grafts on the basis of the waiting list and medical compatibility criteria.

The taxi driver was arrested immediately after the incident and a case file was opened against him for causing bodily harm through negligence and for dangerous driving. According to the evidence so far, the breathalyser test he underwent was negative. The man arrested is presumed innocent until judged by the courts, while should the death of the 39-year-old be confirmed, the charge is expected to change to manslaughter by negligence. An illegal U-turn on a fast avenue is one of the most frequent causes of serious crashes involving riders of two-wheelers, since the turning vehicle suddenly takes up the entire width of the lane.

Karamanlis Avenue, also known as the coastal road, is one of the most heavily burdened axes in Attica, with high speeds and dense two-wheeler traffic around the clock during the summer months. In the same carriageway and a short distance away, another case file for an illegal U-turn on Athens–Sounio Avenue was recently recorded. The original incident became known as a collision between a motorcyclist and a taxi making a U-turn. The authorities have not announced the findings of the Traffic Police, nor whether there were witnesses or camera footage recording the incident. Riders of two-wheelers are consistently one of the most vulnerable categories of road users in Attica, since they have no protective bodywork and are seriously injured even in low-speed collisions.