Early reports that the Smart car that crashed on the main thoroughfare of Petrou Ralli this morning, killing two, had earlier been implicated in another accident with a taxi have been confirmed by traffic police.

The driver of the taxi has been found and questioned.

Officers are now examining the possibility that the Smart car was uninsured and that the driver of the car, who is said to be of Albanian descent, was speeding in an attempt to flee the scene.

The driver was travelling at great speed in the busy area, lost control of his vehicle and plowed into several pedestrians killing them instantly in front of horrified bystanders.

The crash appears to have been captured by closed circuit cameras in front of the Attica Department of Foreign Aliens and Department of Athens Court Transfers which are located in the area. Video from the cameras are now being scrutinized by police.

WARNING: GRAPHIC and distressing details ahead

The accident occurred at approximately 10.10 in the morning when the small grey Smart Car began tearing down Petrou Ralli at great speed after reportedly colliding first with a taxi. It may have also violated a red light.

According to police the car appears to have first struck a 23-year-old police officer killing him instantly.

“He was decapitated. His colleagues identified him from his clothes and his shoes,” traffic police officers said.

The unfortunate officer had been serving at the Immigrant Detention Center of Amygdaleza and was in the area on his way to a seminar at the Department of Foreign Aliens about measures to prevent the spread of Ebola.

The Smart car subsequently struck a woman, a foreign national, who was walking side-by side with her husband. Her husband was unharmed but she was killed instantly, suffering dismemberment by the force of the impact.

Another woman was also hit and her legs were severed in the crash. She is currently fighting for her life in the General State Hospital of Nikaia, having undergone successive surgical operations.

The two women were found side by side leading early reports to misidentify them as mother and daughter. The woman who lost her legs is reportedly of slight build, leading eyewitnesses and early responders to first identify her as a young girl.

Another man also suffered a broken arm and leg and has undergone surgery in the Tzaneio hospital.

The driver who caused the horrific crash is also being treated at the same hospital for abrasions and bruises and will undergo scans to examine for internal injuries. He will also be given blood tests to determine if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol while police are also checking his immigration status and whether he has a criminal record.

Police sources allege that in informal comments made to police, the driver claimed to suffer from epileptic seizures and that he could not remember the crash, a possibility that police will subsequently examine.

Tomorrow flags at police stations around the country will fly at half mast in a display of mourning for the 23-year-old officer killed in the Petrou Ralli crash, as well as the DIAS unit motorcycle police officer who was killed in a separate incident in the early hours of this morning.

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