Police took less than 24 hours to find and arrest the driver of a white Renault car who ran over and killed a 80-year-old man riding a bicycle in the area of Moinho da Légua in Aljezur.
The accident took place on Wednesday (January 15) at around 6.30pm on the EN120 road, according to the Rescue Operations Command in the Algarve (CDOS). But GNR police’s investigative work led them to the driver, who was caught just as he was attempting to fix the damage to his car at a garage in Portimão.
The man, 47, immediately confessed and was taken into custody.
He is now bound by Termo the Identidade e Residência (TIR), a mandatory condition which means he has to inform police of any changes of address, but is allowed to remain free until his trial.
Other drivers in the area had alerted the authorities to the accident, and to the fact that a white Renault car had been seen driving away from the scene where pensioner António Pacheco was left to die.
Despite prompt action by the emergency teams, the elderly man succumbed to his injuries and died soon after the accident.
Police believe the man’s bicycle was equipped with adequate lighting and thus visible to other drivers, but investigations are still ongoing.
Meantime, another pensioner died in an accident on the road in Altura on Thursday morning. It is believed the elderly man came off the road without any other drivers being involved. Police are still investigating.
