Humans make mistakes. It’s in our nature. It’s how we learn. The one that Marcos Alonso made on Monday was admittedly one of the dumbest that any human can make. For those that have missed all the news, here is the rundown of what we know:
Marcos Alonso sent this tweet early on May 2nd (still May 1 in the United States, where both Bolton Offside bloggers are located):
For those that don't speak Spanish, this translates to:
With Jamie (Navarro) drinking something and enjoying a couple of days off with the family. What a player that "Jaimito" is!
Just a couple hours ago, Jamie Navarro tweeted:
Which translates to:
A difficult day, thanks for your support...
The BWFC left back was driving, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, when the car carrying five people left the road and crashed into a wall. The legal alcohol limit in Spain is a BrAC of 0.25 or a BAC of 0.05% as compared to the United States’ 0.08%. Alonso took one test with his BrAC coming out at 0.45. He refused a second test, on the grounds that he claimed he was having an anxiety attack.
Alonso left with light injuries and three other people in the car suffered serious injuries but the real tragedy is in the one passenger whose injuries were worse. A 19-year old woman in the car was not lucky enough to escape the crash at all. She died after sustaining heavy brain injuries.
Drunk-driving laws are very serious in Spain and it is possible that Alonso may be accused of negligent homicide in the matter.
The former Real Madrid player signed a 3-year deal at the Reebok at the beginning of this season and has made 8 appearances for the club.
UPDATE After a preliminary hearing on Monday night, Alonso was released to return to England until the actual court date is set, something that could take up to 8 months. A statement made by the courts says:
"Preliminary investigating Court No4 in Madrid released footballer Marcos Alonso Mendoza, who is suspected of having committed an alleged crime against road safety, driving while over the alcohol limit, a crime of negligent homicide and causing of reckless injury. In addition, the judge has imposed precautionary measures to withdraw his driving license and impose a driving ban throughout the national territory for the duration of the instruction process."
It has also been revealed that the passengers of the car were Miguel Alonso, Marcos' little brother, Jaime Navarro, a former teammate, and two women only identified by their first names. Both Miguel Alsonso and the second woman remain in the hospital.