An 83-year-old British holidaymaker died after a ‘very drunken’ stranger fell on top of her while she was on a break in Spain.
Retired nurse Barbara Cahill was holidaying in Alicante in October 2023 when a drunk man suddenly fell on top of her as she was strolling through the streets in a tourist area.
Ms Cahill, who lived in Rochdale, was taken to Alicante hospital with a broken leg, but died six days later, on October 20, after suffering complications during surgery.
Spanish authorities said the cause of death was cardiac electrical activities without pulse – also known as Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA), which can cause cardiac arrest.
They listed an intraoperative complication with a right tibial plateau fracture as a secondary factor.
Following an inquest, held at Preston Coroner’s Court, Assistant Coroner Richard Taylor said: ‘Barbara Cahill died in Alicante hospital on the 20th of October 2023.
‘Having arrived in Spain on holiday on October 14 2023 she suffered a lower leg injury when an unknown person fell onto her in the street. Delayed surgery was undertaken from which she did not recover.’
Last month, a coroner praised the bravery of a heroic Brit who drowned after saving two children in the sea at a Spanish beach in June.
Retired nurse Barbara Cahill died after a ‘very drunken’ stranger fell on top of her while she was on holiday in Alicante, Spain
An inquest, held at Preston Coroner’s Court, found that the 83-year-old died after suffering a lower leg injury
‘Hugely courageous’ Bryn Thomas from Southampton, Hampshire, dived into the water in a bid to help the youngsters, aged six and seven, along with his friend and others on the Costa Blanca.
However, the ‘very fit and active’ businessman then got into trouble himself and died, despite the best efforts of other beachgoers in administering CPR once he was pulled from the sea.
Meanwhile, in January, a British man’s body was found floating in the water at a marina in Calpe north of Benidorm following a suspected accident.
He was described at the time as a 53-year-old who had moored a boat he lived on in the pleasure port after arriving from the nearby town of Altea.
