The public is shocked by the death of a woman who, after driving down the steps of the 11th November pier in central Riga, drove her car into the icy waters of the Daugava. However, it is worth remembering that this is far from the first such incident.
As previously reported, on Friday afternoon, rescuers managed to locate and retrieve the driver of the car that drove into the Daugava near the Stone Bridge in central Riga; however, the car will remain in the river for now. After more than five hours of search efforts, rescuers found the vehicle that sank on Thursday evening. Inside was the deceased, who was pulled from the water and brought to shore.
A similar tragedy occurred on April 6, 2024, when shortly before eight in the evening, a Skoda Yeti car was speeding along the 11th November waterfront towards Kengarags, passed under the Stone Bridge, abruptly changed direction, and without braking, crashed down the steps of the pier into the Daugava, narrowly missing people nearby. Inside the retrieved vehicle, the body of a man born in 1992 was found.
Although social media often calls for barriers to be installed at the pier steps after such accidents, the local government has yet to respond to such initiatives.
