Mallorca rally crash kills driver as police suspect speed
A rally car leaves a bend on Mallorca’s Ma-10 near Mortitx on Friday and plunges down a ravine several metres deep. Its driver, 63-year-old German Klaus Rader, dies at the scene. His German co-driver, Christina Ettel, 39, is seriously injured. The crash happens during the sixth Rally 550 Challenge de Mallorca, at kilometre 10 on the road from Pollença towards Lluc.
Police investigate the crash
The Civil Guard suspects the car was travelling too fast, though sources close to the investigation say other possibilities, including problems with the road, have not been ruled out. Its judicial police unit in Inca is investigating. Firefighters had to rescue both people from the car.
Investigators have questioned the rally organisers, who called off the event as a mark of mourning. Rader and Ettel’s car was apparently a course-opening vehicle and was not competing for a place in the standings.
Co-driver remains in intensive care
Ettel was taken to Son Espases University Hospital with spinal injuries. Hospital sources say she requested discharge so she could move to a private clinic. In an Instagram post on Monday, she said she was still in an intensive care unit.
She described fractures in two vertebrae, a compression injury to a third and a bruise to her liver. She said she could move her arms and legs fully, correcting reports that suggested otherwise. Ettel thanked those who had supported her and offered her condolences to Rader’s family.
More on this topic: Traffic on Mallorca
Topics: Police · Traffic accidents · Palma · Escorca · Pollença · Inca
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com