By Marc Menendez-Roche •
Published: 21 Oct 2024 • 12:59
• 2 minutes read
Fire nightmare: Drugged driver’s fiery fumble
A peaceful evening at Cabopino Beach went up in smoke when flames tore through eight cars, leaving behind a smouldering mess. It all kicked off when a man, allegedly messing around with a lighter, turned the car park into a fiery nightmare. Lucky for the rest, the quick-thinking fire brigade managed to put out the blaze before things got even worse. But thanks to a rapid response from Marbella s firefighters, the flames were stopped in their tracks before turning the entire lot into a smouldering scrapyard.
Police received a frantic call at 6 PM. There was a fire at the bustling beach spot of Cabopino. Officers and firefighters rushed over. What they found at the scene was something straight out of an action movie nightmare. Cars engulfed in flames, noxious smoke turning the sky thick and black. The fire crew worked at breakneck speed to stop the blaze from taking out even more cars and the nearby trees.
A beachgoer catching some rays noticed a dodgy man in a car, playing around with a lighter. Definitely not what you d expect to see on a sunny day. Something didn’t sit right. I saw him playing around with a lighter like he was up to no good, the witness shared. Just minutes later, a massive cloud of smoke signalled all hell had broken loose. When the witness rushed back to the car park, he found both the guy’s car and his own ride up in flames, with the fire jumping from one vehicle to the next.
The suspected firestarter, a skinny man in his 30s wearing a dark grey T-shirt and a baseball cap, was later spotted by officers at the scene. When approached, he admitted to owning the car that first caught fire. But here’s the twist- he claimed that while he was smoking, he somehow lost control of a lighter and set the car alight.
As the fire ripped through the cars’ braking systems, gravity took over. Both the suspect’s vehicle and the witness s motor rolled down the slope, smashing head on into a row of parked cars, turning a quiet evening into drama. When the smoke finally cleared, six of the eight vehicles were beyond repair- reduced to twisted metal, molten plastic, and charred remains.
The 35-year-old Marbella man was quickly detained and cuffed on suspicion of reckless endangerment and property damage. A drug test at the police station confirmed what many had already suspected- he was high on cocaine at the time of the incident. Now, he s in the hot seat with the National Police, facing the heat for turning a seaside parking spot into a flaming disaster zone.
As locals grapple with the aftermath, many are left seething about the safety of the area. It’s terrifying to think this could happen again, said one regular beachgoer. The community is now calling for increased patrols to prevent any more reckless antics from turning their peaceful beachfront into a potential fire hazard.
For now, the charred remains of the cars at Cabopino Beach serve as a burnt-out reminder of what happens when a careless spark sets the night ablaze.
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Written by
Marc Menendez-Roche
Marc is a writer, teacher, and language enthusiast with a passion for making complex topics simple and accessible.
With a background in business and legal communication and an interest in educational neuroscience, Marc has spent over a decade teaching and writing.
Now, as part of the team at Euro Weekly News, Marc enjoys diving into entertaining topics and stories that matter to the community.
When he’s not writing, Marc loves practising martial arts, playing football, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or spending quality time with friends and family, but above all, Marc enjoys spending time with his son, Macson.
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