Accident averted in Almuñecar

A QUICK-WITTED coach driver saved the day as a kamikaze car driver almost took out her vehicle and its 55 occupants as they made their way towards Malaga from Almeria.

The group was on its way to walk the famous Caminito del Rey, known as the world’s most dangerous walkway prior to its refurbishment, but encountered an unexpected peril close to Almuñecar.

As the bus approached the Cantalobos tunnel on the A-7 motorway around 8.45am, a black car suddenly appeared in the same lane, hurtling headlong towards them and forcing driver Maria Hernandez to take evasive action.

She managed to swerve the coach in such a way that the car only brushed a wing mirror, while several passengers alerted the police using their mobile phones.

After travelling 7.5 kilometres on the wrong side of the motorway, the 30-year-old driver was eventually picked up by the Guardia Civil and found to have excess levels of both alcohol and cocaine in his bloodstream.

“Not even I know how I did it,” confessed Hernandez, as she received congratulations from the relieved passengers after the dramatic incident.