Officials duck deadly sign
The regional authority of central Greece was responsible for maintaining a large road sign near Halkida that fell on a car on Saturday, killing the passenger and seriously injuring the driver, the Public Works and Environment Ministry said yesterday. A series of public officials rushed yesterday to deny they were responsible for the upkeep of the sign. The general secretary of the regional authority said the maintenance had not been assigned to the body. The sign, which was posted about 2 kilometers from the new Halkida bridge on the island of Evia, appears to have been dislodged by strong winds before landing on a passing car. The impact killed 40-year-old Evangelia Pateraki and injured her husband. The sign may have come loose during an accident a week earlier, when a car crashed into the structure. The structure was likely damaged in the accident but there is no record of the traffic police reporting the matter, officials said.
