Student crashes on rocks in mom’s Jag

Aurora Marcopoulos,19, is recovering in hospital after her mother s Jaguar she was driving veered off the road and crashed into the rocks at Bakoven near Camps Bay on Saturday. Picture: NEIL 

The father of a 19-year-old being treated for a minor concussion and severe bruising says he is determined to find out what caused her mother’s Jaguar to veer off the road and crash into the rocks at Bakoven near Camps Bay.

Aurora Marcopoulos, from Hout Bay, was recovering in ICU after undergoing tests at the Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital on Sunday.

ER24 spokesman Derrick Banks said Marcopoulos was still inside the car, wearing her seatbelt, when she was found at 7am after the car had rolled down an embankment on Victoria Road.

“ER24, Fire and Rescue, police, emergency services and community medics assisted in the rescue. Paramedics treated her for suspected neck and back injuries with multiple cuts and abrasions on her body. She was removed from the car and treated further,” he said.

Banks said the Skymed Rescue helicopter transferred the driver from the scene on to the road where she was then transported to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Marcopoulos’ father, Haris Marcopoulos, said she was on her way home in her mother’s Jaguar at about 2am on Saturday after a night out with friends in Cape Town when the accident happened.

“We became concerned when she didn’t come back, but then assumed that she had stayed with her friends. When we got the call about the accident, we rushed there. We always tell our children to let us know when they’re on their way so we can keep track of when they are expected to get back, but we are just glad that she is fine,” he said.

Marcopoulos said his daughter, a full-time media and politics student at UCT and a part-time model, was known to be very responsible.

“We believe that she could have lost control or fallen asleep behind the wheel because they did tests to check her alcohol level, or if her drink was spiked, but they were negative.

”A number of her belongings were stolen,” Marcopoulos said.

He said the family was at hospital to visit Aurora who was still sedated on pain medication after being treated for a minor concussion and fractured ribs on Sunday.

“We will have to wait until she recovers to find what really happened. She is a very lucky girl. Doctors say she will make a full recovery soon,” Marcopoulos said.

Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Michelle Norris confirmed Marcopoulos’s injuries and said she was stable, but could not confirm when she would be discharged.

Police spokesman Tembinkosi Kinana said a case of negligent and reckless driving was opened as police were still investigating the incident.

“At this stage we have not received reports regarding whether or not she was under the influence of alcohol,” he said.

barbara.maregele@inl.co.za
http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/student-crashes-on-rocks-in-mom-s-jag-1.1514818#.UwSAXJFWwpE