Andorran Drink-Driver Detained After Crash Amid Snow Chaos

Police have detained a 26-year-old Andorran resident after he caused a single-vehicle crash at the Prat Salit roundabout in Santa Coloma late Thursday night, with two female passengers aged 18 and 22 suffering minor injuries.

The incident occurred just after 9pm near the General 1 at kilometre 2.950, close to a restaurant area marked by the Viena outlet. The driver lost control of his Andorran-plated car, which sustained material damage. Breath tests showed a blood alcohol level above 0.87g/l—short of 1g/l but sufficient for a positive result and arrest. He faces charges of endangering public safety due to drink-driving, plus two counts of minor bodily harm for the passengers' light injuries, treated on-site by firefighters. Traffic faced brief disruption from the crash site and a bus that stopped abruptly nearby, requiring a crane and alternating lanes during vehicle removal.

Separate incidents compounded road challenges amid Saturday's heavy snow, strong winds, and poor visibility. Around 4.55pm, two cars collided descending Port d'Envalira, damaging side doors but causing no injuries—consistent with initial reports of material-only harm there. A minor crash also occurred in Encamp that morning.

Around 8pm Friday at the KM0 roundabout between Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany, a two-car collision initially limited to material damage escalated when drivers fought, prompting urgent police intervention amid heavy traffic on Avinguda Tarragona. Officers separated them and processed the report; one driver received police attention. This followed a minor brawl at a Sant Julià de Lòria shopping centre cafeteria, where three patrols and an ambulance responded but largely stood down after finding no serious issues or arrests.

Late Friday near midnight, a Spanish-plated Volkswagen Taigo flipped on Avinguda de les Nacions Unides in Escaldes-Engordany, colliding with an Andorran Seat Arona and damaging two parked vans. Both sets of occupants walked away unharmed; drivers tested negative for alcohol. Emergency services, police, firefighters, and traffic units closed the lower avenue for 90 minutes until clearance around 1am, under warnings of icy conditions.

Yellow alerts remained active on CG3 at El Serrat and CG4 from Pal, mandating winter tyres. Queues formed in Soldeu, with dense traffic on CG2 into Encamp and CG4 into La Massana. Authorities anticipate more issues as skiers descend, urging caution at high avalanche risk levels during the Freeride World Championships.

Earlier Thursday, two backcountry skiers at Pal Arinsal ignored closures and warnings during PIDA avalanche control at Port Negre, exiting seconds before explosives detonated amid up to three metres of snow across Grandvalira Resorts. Resort staff called it highly reckless. Ordino Arcalís reopened post-operations, with base depths at 250cm there, 210cm at Pal Arinsal, and 2.5m at Grandvalira. Conditions should ease Sunday.