Three Irish nationals killed in a car crash in Malaga were not wearing seatbelts when their SUV plunged 100ft off the A-7 motorway, investigators believe.
The Guardia Civil is now investigating the tragic accident, which happened in the early hours of Sunday near the Cerrado de Calderon exit in eastern Malaga.
According to the initial reconstruction, reported by respected local newspaper La Opinion de Malaga, the German-registered SUV was travelling towards Almeria with four occupants when the driver lost control.
The vehicle first collided with another car being driven by a 64-year-old woman, who escaped with minor injuries, before smashing through the motorway’s crash barrier.
The SUV then plunged down a steep embankment, crashing onto a roundabout near an Aldi supermarket in the Pedregalejo area, where it was left completely wrecked.
Emergency services were called at around 2.38am, with firefighters forced to cut the victims from the mangled vehicle.
The three people killed – two women and one man aged between 24 and 32 – have since been identified by Irish media as Amy McCullagh, her brother-in-law Mark McCullagh and his partner Michaela Newcombe.
All were from Mullingar, in County Westmeath.
The sole survivor, Ian McCullagh, 35, who is believed to have been driving, was rushed to Malaga Regional Hospital in a critical condition.
Investigators hope his testimony will help establish exactly what caused the crash.
Sources close to the investigation added that none of the four occupants appeared to have been wearing seatbelts when emergency crews reached the vehicle, although this will form part of the ongoing investigation.
The tragedy came on one of the deadliest weekends on Malaga’s roads this year.
In a separate incident, a 60-year-old motorcyclist was found dead after apparently crashing on the A-7000 road through the Montes de Malaga.
His family had reported him missing on Saturday before his motorcycle and body were discovered down an embankment late on Sunday.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
