Three young people, aged 15, 19, and 20, were killed on Saturday while returning from a wedding in Chania on the North Road Axis of Crete (VOAK) when their car collided with a minivan. This incident brings the number of fatalities on this road to 14 so far this year. Additionally, a 22-year-old woman who was also in the car is hospitalized and intubated.
Since 2015, there have been 112 deaths on the VOAK, according to “Efsyn”. The total number of road fatalities in Crete for this year has reached 39, matching the total for all of 2023. According to “Kathimerini,” nearly half of these deaths are related to alcohol and substance use.
Highway 90 (A90), also known as the VOAK, connects Kastelli Kissamou, the westernmost city in Crete, with Sitia, the easternmost city.
Governments have promised to complete the modern road connecting the four capitals (Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion, and Agios Nikolaos), but the project has been under construction since the 1990s. The VOAK was built 50 years ago when there were 50,000 vehicles on the island, according to a report by in.gr; today, that number rises to 1 million, particularly during the summer months.
Meanwhile, the Chania Tourism and Catering Association has called the loss of the three young people a “work-related accident” and will request an inspection by the Labor Inspectorate to examine all their working conditions (hours, overtime, employment contracts, especially for the minor, etc.).
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