The Accident
On May 2, the participants in the 2007 Rally were driving through the Republic of Macedonia on a route from the Macedonian-Greek border near Bitola to the border with Albania, near the town of Struga. The traffic accident occurred on the motorway M4, at the entrance of the town of Struga, about 10 kilometers (6 mi) from the Macedonian-Albanian border post. The coordinates of the exact location of the crash are 41°10′27″N 20°39′26″E / 41.174220°N 20.657240°E / 41.174220; 20.657240 (Gumball 3000 accident in 2007).
The Porsche 911 Turbo hit an oncoming Volkswagen Golf, which was making a left turn on to the main road from a side road and driving in the opposite direction of the Porsche. The Porsche hit the Golf head-on, and the crash pushed both vehicles off the road.
A video of the immediate aftermath was subsequently posted to the YouTube website.
Both the driver and the passenger in the Golf were heavily injured. The driver and the passenger of the Porsche seemed virtually unharmed, and they were immediately picked up by another Gumball 3000 participating vehicle, a BMW M6, and it is alleged they then fled to the border, where they were arrested by the Macedonian border police. The casualties reported in the accident were the 67-year old driver of the Golf, Vladimir Čepunjoski, who died on his way to the hospital, and his wife Margarita Čepunjoski, who died in hospital from injuries sustained in the crash on May 4.
Nicholas Morley was set free on bail of £17,000 and ordered to appear in court for a trial; however, he tried to flee the country once again the next day in Skopje, while trying to board a private jet. After this second arrest, he was detained in prison until the trial.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Gumball 3000 Accident
Famous quotes containing the word accident:
“There is a limit to the application of democratic methods. You can inquire of all the passengers as to what type of car they like to ride in, but it is impossible to question them as to whether to apply the brakes when the train is at full speed and accident threatens.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)
“A sudden light transfigures a trivial thing, a weather-vane, a wind-mill, a winnowing flail, the dust in the barn door; a moment,—and the thing has vanished, because it was pure effect; but it leaves a relish behind it, a longing that the accident may happen again.”
—Walter Pater (1839–1894)