Guardia Civil officer, Dámaso Guillén, lost his life at 49 years of age, saving the lives of children on bicycles.
This occurred on the AS-236, in Pravia (Asturias). The car-thief behind the wheel of a stolen Renault Laguna28-year-old Y.T.L., was speeding along the said road at 17.40h. On the same road at the same time was a group of cyclist taking part in a junior, cycling competition, escorted by a traffic unit belonging to the Guardia Civil. The road was closed to traffic and motorcycle-officer Guillén rode ahead of the cycling group.
The car thief managed to evade the first control point and came across the cyclist group and escort rider. The policeman, seeing the coming head on car, slewed his bike across the road, blocking his way but the thief just slammed straight into him, catapulting the bike over the crash barrier and the rider flying across the other side of the road, killing him instantly.
The car, with its engine destroyed by the impact carried on several meters, before stopping. The thief jumped out of the car and ran off. Fortunately this all happened before the children on their bicycles reached the scene.
Alerted, the Guardia Civil sent out several patrol cars, assisted by a helicopter, to catch the thief on foot. Because the man was armed with an axe, the police advised local residents to remain at home with their doors locked.
He was finally spotted by the helicopter pilot and arrested by officers on the ground around 21.00h that evening in a nearby village — the same one where he had stolen the car
But this was no ordinary case of car theft because the stolen vehicle belonged to a man whom he had attacked with an axe after a heated argument concerning living accommodation.
(News: Pravia, Asturias)