The person responsible for the attack at Espanyol stadium has been released on charges and must appear regularly in court.

BarcelonaThe duty court of Cornellà de Llobregat has released the detainee on charges for the multiple hit-and-run at the gates of the RCDE Stadium, minutes before the derby between Barça and Espanyol. According to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), the woman is required to appear regularly in court. Furthermore, the judge revoked her driver's license and impounded her car. The court is keeping the case open for three offenses: one against road safety, one for disobedience, and one for injuries due to negligence, which will be classified once all the injured have received medical reports on the consequences of their injuries.

The Department of Health reported this Saturday that the death toll from the accident remains at 17, two of whom are still hospitalized. One is 41 years old and remains in the ICU in serious condition. The man was admitted to the hospital with a head injury that eventually became complicated. The rest of those affected have already been discharged.

The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) are working on the hypothesis that the accident was accidental. The incident occurred at 9 p.m., half an hour before kickoff. According to police sources, the driver was driving through an area filled with Espanyol fans that was not closed to traffic. She became trapped between the crowd and two garbage containers that some Espanyol supporters had placed in the middle of the road. ARA confirmed that the driver was a local resident and had left a parking lot very close to the stadium. This means that she had not missed any police checkpoints restricting traffic in the area.

At this point, tensions escalated, with many people heckling the driver, throwing objects at the car, and breaking some of its windows. Amid the tension, and with the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) trying to control the situation, the driver lost control and ran over several people in front of her. Her erratic trajectory led her to a pedestrian zone, where she ended up crashing into some fences. "She was surrounded by fans and, for some unexplained reason, at one point she tried to accelerate," explained Commissioner Eduard Sallent, head of the Northern Metropolitan Region of the Mossos d'Esquadra, who added that the driver "felt besieged" and defined it as a "fortuate and accidental" incident.

The woman tested negative for alcohol and drugs and, according to sources close to the investigation, Efe reported, her mental state will be evaluated to determine whether she may have lost her temper when surrounded by fans who were going to the football match.

The club considers the driver's reaction unjustifiable.

This Saturday, RCD Espanyol issued a statement urging "respect" for its fans. "We cannot allow the loss of control of the car by the person who caused the mass collision to be justified by the angry reaction of the panicked people who were in the area of the extremely serious incident," they stated. In this regard, the team explained that it will monitor the investigation as necessary to "preserve the interests" of the fans, whom they ask to "maintain maximum unity for the good" of the club. They also request a review of the matchday mobility protocol.

The club has assured that "from the very first moment" they have been on the scene, have checked on the condition of those affected and their families, and will be "at their disposal for whatever they need." "We are aware that something unforeseen like this has generated a lot of tension, and we demand that measures be taken to ensure that football can be played safely," the statement added, in which the Perico team reiterated that the match was not postponed because "those with the authority to do so, with the information they had, so decided."