Car Hits Three Pedestrians in Santander

A car jumped the curb in central Santander on Thursday, May 7, and hit three women right outside City Hall. This was not a minor traffic scare — two of the victims ended up trapped under the vehicle, and all three were taken to Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital. The driver, a man in his 50s, tested positive for cocaine and told police he had fallen asleep at the wheel. By that evening he had given a statement and was released, but the case was still under investigation. (europapress.es) ### Where did it happen? The crash happened on Calle Calvo Sotelo, one of the busiest stretches in the center of Santander, directly in front of the City Hall building. The car left the roadway at about 1:15 p.m., struck a pole on the sidewalk near a pedestrian cro(europapress.es)— not an empty road at night. (europapress.es) ### What do we know about the victims? The people seriously hurt were three women. Emergency crews took all three to Valdecilla, which is the main referral hospital in the area. The most dramatic detail is that two of them were pinned underneath the car after impact. That tells you how violent the crash was even though it happened in an urban street, not on a highway. (europapress.es) ### How were they rescued? Witnesses and emergency responders had to lift the vehicle to free the trapped women. Basically, this turned into a street rescue before it was just a traffic case. Images and local reports from the scene showed ambulances and responders clustered around the vehicle in front of City Hall, with the rescue happening right there on the curb. (lavanguardia.com) ### What happened with the driver? Police identified the driver as a man around 50 years old. He tested positive for cocaine after the crash, and he reportedly told officers he had fallen asleep while driving. Those two details sit uneasily together — because either one alone would raise serious questions about fitness to drive, and together they make the investigation much more serious. (europapress.es) ### Was he arrested? He was taken in to give a statement, but he was later released the same day. That does not mean the case is over. It usually means investigators are still sorting out the exact offenses, the victims’ medical status, and whether prosecutors will pursue road-safety or injury-related charges. In Spain, the severity of the injuries and toxicology findings can shape what comes next. (europapress.es) ### Why is this more than a local accident brief? Because the crash happened at a marked pedestrian crossing, in the middle of the day, in the civic center of the city. It also involved alleged drug use and a driver who said he dozed off. Turns out this is the (europapress.es)s are in city centers. (europapress.es) ### What still isn’t clear? The authorities had not publicly identified the women or given a detailed medical update beyond their transfer to hospital. The full sequence — whether the driver blacked out, how fast the car was moving, and what exact charges might follow — was still being reconstructed as of May 8. So the broad outline is clear, but the legal ending is not. (europapress.es) ### Bottom line This was a downtown pedestrian crash with unusually severe consequences — three women injured, two trapped under the car, and a driver who tested positive for cocaine. The immediate emergency is over, but the real story now is the investigation into how a car ended up on that sidewalk in the first place. (europapress.es)