Events

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

A court is investigating her for a crime against road safety, disobedience and injuries due to negligence.

Multiple accident near Espanyol's field
ARA
17/05/2025
2 min

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 found herself 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 (Catalan Police), who added that the driver "felt besieged" and described it as a "fortuate and accidental" incident.

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

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