59 LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST ON THE BALEARIC ROADS THIS YEAR

By Humphrey Carter A 24-year-old man died in a traffic accident in Ibiza yesterday morning taking the total road deaths in the Balearics for the past five days to eight. This latest spate of accidents has been one of the worst in many years and yesterday police commanders were busy assessing the situation and discussing what steps can be taken quickly ahead of peak season when traffic reaches its peak on the islands' roads. Of the eight people to have died, seven have been killed on Majorca's roads. The first tragic accident occurred on Wednesday when a motorbike and a car collided along the Soller road in Bunyola claiming the life of an 18-year-old German later that evening and his girlfriend the following day. On Friday another 25-year-old motorcyclists lost his life in Palma. “Black Friday” also claimed the life of a third motorcyclist, a 16-year-old involved in an accident in Sant Llorenç. On Sunday, Andreu Massanet, head of the Civil Protection unit in Lloseta was buried. The 42-year-old father was killed in an accident on Friday on the outskirts of Binissalem. His step-mother Maria Contreras Perez, 55, was also killed in the accident while his wife Andreu and their two children suffered severe injuries. Three-year-old Ana Maria was rushed to hospital in a critical condition - she sadly passed away on Sunday at Son Dureta Hospital. On Sunday, one person was killed and three others, including a six-month pregnant women and a one-year-old, were injured in an accident an the Palma Via Centura ring road just after the Genova tunnel exit. The fatal victim was 73-year-old Bartolome Bonafe Mora a former Partido Popular Calvia council and father of the current councillor for security. Bonafe Mora will be buried this morning. He was travelling in a Land Rover Discovery which was, according to the Guardia Civil, involved in a head-on collision with a Peugeot 405, the driver of which was seriously injured along with the pregnant women and the little girl. Yesterday, the traffic police were still investigating the cause of the accident while others were drawing up new plans to halt the rise in accidents. people have died on the roads in the Balearics this year, nearly 17 percent more than during the first seven months of last year. Police sources said yesterday that the death toll is raising on a daily basis, adding that nearly 60 percent of fatal accidents are caused by speeding, tiredness or drivers being distracted.