Criminal charges for attempted murder and domestic violence have been filed against a 45-year-old Greek man who attempted to drive his estranged wife and child off a cliff. The man then tried to commit suicide. According to dimokratiki.gr, shortly after the first incident in Rhodes, he drove his own vehicle off a 60-meter cliff and is currently hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic.
The incident, which could have resulted in a double tragedy involving a mother and her minor child, is being investigated by Rhodes authorities. Evidence suggests that what appeared to be an isolated vehicle accident actually conceals an entire chain of events that began with picking up a young child from his grandmother’s house and culminated in an attempt that, according to preliminary investigation data, nearly cost three lives.
As revealed today by “dimokratiki,” the case is ongoing, with the alleged perpetrator hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic following his own cliff accident just minutes after the first episode. The victim has retained lawyer Asimeni Vergi, who will monitor the entire judicial process representing the civil action.
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Child pickup and route to Monte Smith
According to available evidence, on the evening of April 21, 2026, around 8:00 PM, the mother of the minor child – a Greek woman separated from her husband who has custody of the child – went to the 45-year-old’s mother’s house in her private car to pick up their three-year-old child. She secured the minor in a special child seat in the back of the vehicle. She sat behind the wheel while the 45-year-old got into the passenger seat, as the mother stated he had asked her to drive him to the parking area near the ancient stadium in the broader Monte Smith area. The journey began seemingly normally, with nothing foreshadowing what would soon transform an ordinary evening into a thriller scene.
Sudden steering wheel grab and cliff diversion attempt
While the vehicle was traveling on a central road in the area toward Rhodes city and had approached a traffic roundabout, the 45-year-old, according to the driver’s testimony, suddenly grabbed the steering wheel and forcefully turned it toward the cliff side, intending, according to the victim’s claims, to drive the car with her and their minor child off the edge. The driver, reacting instinctively, forcefully turned the wheel in the opposite direction to prevent the violent swerve. The result was her vehicle colliding with another passing car traveling in the opposite direction, causing material damage to its mirror.
The incident escalated further. According to collected evidence, while the car was still moving, the 45-year-old got up from the passenger seat, straddled the driver’s seat and the victim herself, and tried to reach the pedals with his foot to, as the mother claims, press the accelerator and complete the cliff diversion. However, the attempt failed because the vehicle has a start-stop system, causing the engine to automatically shut off when he pressed the pedals.
After the failed attempt, the 45-year-old exited the vehicle at his mother’s house and got into his own private car. Shortly after, around 9:00 PM the same day, while driving on the same road where the first incident occurred, just meters from the original location, he veered off course and plunged into a ravine approximately 60 meters deep. Police who rushed to the scene found the vehicle in the gorge. During the investigation, they detected a strong odor of alcohol, and the 45-year-old was immediately transported to Rhodes General Hospital for first aid.
Crime scene investigation resulted in the discovery and seizure of cash, bank cards, documents and personal items found scattered inside the vehicle. During the police investigation, they also identified the driver of the third vehicle that had collided with the mother’s car in the first phase of the incident. This driver, examined by relevant authorities, reported that she was traveling on the same road toward Rhodes Hospital when she noticed a car from the opposite direction making sudden and unexplained maneuvers. She attempted to avoid it but failed, resulting in contact between the two vehicles. This testimony is considered crucial for reconstructing the chain of events, as it confirms from a completely independent source the existence of sudden and violent maneuvers inside the vehicle at the critical moment.
Family context and relationship dynamics
According to case file data, the 45-year-old Greek man is legally married to the victim, with whom he has a three-and-a-half-year-old child. Recently, however, they have been separated, with custody of the minor assigned to the mother. This fact appears to be a critical element in assessing motives, as witness testimony indicates their relationship has been in a particularly tense phase for some time. Authorities are examining all data carefully to form a complete picture of what exactly preceded that evening.
Criminal charges have been filed against the 45-year-old, including attempted murder, dangerous driving, domestic violence law violations, and traffic code violations. After his own cliff accident, he is hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic, with the case in the preliminary investigation stage awaiting examination by competent judicial authorities. The preliminary investigation continues, with relevant services gathering additional material, examining potential new witnesses, and evaluating findings from crime scene investigations at both incident locations, which are only meters apart.
The investigation focuses on reconstructing the chronological sequence of events, from the moment the child was picked up from his grandmother’s house to the final vehicle diversion into the cliff. The case, with its particular characteristics and severity of charges, is expected to occupy both judicial authorities and public opinion in the coming period, especially because a three-year-old child was, according to current evidence, in the back seat of a vehicle that for just a few seconds stood one step away from the edge of a 60-meter cliff.
