Rethymno: motorcycle hits pedestrian on crossing

A traffic accident in which a pedestrian was injured occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday 18 August on Emmanouil Kefalogiannis Street, near the port of Rethymno. According to the report by Politica.gr, which cites the port authorities, a motorcycle ridden by a 54-year-old Greek national struck a 33-year-old British national as she was crossing a pedestrian crossing. The injured woman was taken by an EKAV ambulance to Rethymno General Hospital, where she was examined and discharged the same day. The exact circumstances in which the accident occurred have not been clarified and are the subject of the preliminary investigation now under way.

The Rethymno Port Authority arrested the 54-year-old rider and filed a case against him for bodily harm through negligence. The man arrested is presumed innocent until judged by the courts. The Coast Guard’s jurisdiction in this particular case is explained by the location of the incident, as Emmanouil Kefalogiannis Street runs through the port zone of Rethymno, where policing is carried out by the port authority and not by the Traffic Police. In cases of this kind the file is forwarded to the competent prosecutor and the degree of responsibility is determined on the basis of speed, visibility and observance of pedestrian priority at the crossing. In cases of bodily harm through negligence, prosecution is brought ex officio and the case goes before the competent court, while the degree of responsibility is established by the scene-examination report and the statements of witnesses.

This street is one of the busiest arteries in the town during the summer months, as it links the Venetian harbour with the seafront zone and the old town, where restaurants, hotels and parking areas are concentrated. The traffic load includes a large number of motorcycles and mopeds, many of them rented, while pedestrians often move along narrow pavements. That combination makes the crossings critical points, particularly in the afternoon and evening hours, when visibility drops and traffic peaks. Rethymno receives tens of thousands of visitors in August, with the zone around the Venetian harbour the densest point of pedestrian traffic in the whole town.

The preliminary investigation will show whether the accident was due to excessive speed, to inattention or to a combination of factors, while it has not been made known whether the rider was breathalysed. Nor has it been announced whether the crossing where the incident occurred has adequate signage and lighting, elements usually examined during the investigation of similar incidents. Road accidents with injuries to riders and pedestrians are recorded regularly in Crete over the summer, as in the case of the injury of a 20-year-old rider in Chania. The 33-year-old’s condition was not considered worrying, as she left hospital the same day. The port authorities are stepping up checks on speed and helmet use in the port zone during the summer season.