Driver pleads not guilty to charges in fatal New Year crash

The 44-year-old driver of the double-cab involved in the quadruple fatal crash that occurred in the early hours of January 1, 2024 in Limassol, pled not guilty to any of the ten charges brought against him.

The defendant appeared before the Limassol Criminal Court on Thursday morning, with his lawyer stating that at this stage, his client will respond by not admitting guilt to all charges, while a proposal for a change of charges is still pending, to the prosecuting authority.

The ten charges were read out in court. They relate to offences of manslaughter, causing death due to reckless, careless or dangerous behaviour, driving at a speed endangering human life, and violation of a red traffic signal.

The judge requested both sides to examine and present any admissible facts to expedite the trial and set the start of the hearing for June 26 at 9am.

Upon the defendant’s departure from the courtroom, there was palpable tension from the relatives of the victims, who protested when the 44-year-old did not admit to guilt. Most of the relatives were wearing T-shirts bearing the faces of the accident’s victims.

The defendant will remain in custody at the central prisons until the start of the hearing.

The severe road collision that occurred at a traffic-light-controlled intersection of the Limassol-Platres road, near Polemidia, caused the death of 27-year-old Evanthia Georgiou, her 17-year-old brother, Nicholas Georgiou, and their grandparents, Nicholas Zavros and Evanthia Georgiou, aged 72 and 74, respectively.