LATEST UPDATE: SUSPECT IS ARRESTED
A Norwegian teenager got into an Uber with two men minutes before she was mowed down on the A-7 near Mijas, it has emerged.
According to Spanish journalist Jorge Garcia Badia, investigators have established that Nikoline Piwoni Hoie, 17, got into a the vehicle with two young men following a night out at the Funky Buddha in Puerto Banus.
Her last phone ping was at 3.30am near the popular nightlife venue. At around 4am, her friend said she lost sight of her.
The youngster was celebrating after Norway beat Brazil in the World Cup, securing their spot in the quarter final against England.
Her body was discovered at around 5.20am some 30km away on the A-7 motorway after she was struck by a vehicle.
It remains unclear whether she knew the two men she ordered the Uber with, what condition she was in at the time, or why she left the vehicle alone before reaching her destination.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether she intended to order another taxi or what led her to be on the roadside before the fatal collision.
A lorry driver is understood to have witnessed the incident and rushed to help the teenager, but she had already died from her injuries.
The driver alerted the emergency services and directed police to the location of her body.
The Guardia Civil is now investigating a suspicious vehicle with significant front-end damage that investigators believe may be consistent with a collision involving a pedestrian.
The investigation remains ongoing, with officers continuing to piece together Nikoline’s final movements.
The youngster, from Arendal, Norway, had been holidaying on the Costa del Sol with part of her family when she was fatally struck in the early hours of last Monday morning.
A spokesperson for the family last week confirmed that her father, stepmother and two siblings have now arrived in Spain to be together following the tragedy.
‘They are struggling to come to terms with the fact that a family member has died,’ family spokesman Finn Greve-Isdahl told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.
He said the family has been in contact with the Norwegian Consulate and their insurance company for assistance, while asking for privacy as they grieve.
Nikoline was a member of Norway’s Young Conservatives, who paid tribute to her last week, describing her death as a devastating loss.
