By the look of the photographs, Chile soccer star Arturo Vidal has had a very lucky escape after he was involved in a serious car crash Tuesday.
One side of Vidal’s red shining Ferrari has almost been completely ripped away.
Multiple media reports quote the Chilean National Police, and prosecutors, as saying that the football star had been under the influence of alcohol, and was at fault for the crash.
The 28-year-old says he “is fine” and is expected to go before a local judge on Wednesday.
In a YouTube video posted on his Twitter account, the Chile midfielder, who plays for Italian club Juventus, confirmed he had been involved in a collision and said nobody had been injured and that it, “wasn’t his fault.”
Vidal added, “I’m fine, my family is fine. Thank you for everything.”
But that’s unlikely to be end of the matter, with Vidal facing possible criminal punishment.
The Chile national police was not immediately available for comment when CNN contacted them, but Police reportedly say he was impaired.
The Hospital San Luis de Buin confirmed to CNN that Vidal had been there but would not disclose the nature of his injuries.
“The driver of the red vehicle was under the influence of alcohol,” the Chilean national police chief Colonel Ricardo Gonzalez was quoted as telling a number of media.
News website La Tercera reported Vidal’s wife suffered a dislocated elbow in the collision, which involved three vehicles.
Radio BioBio said Vidal’s vehicle was a few meters from dropping into the Los Guindos path, which is a drop of 10 meters, and that his car’s airbags had been activated.
Prosecutor Luis Pablo Cortes was quoted as telling news website Emol that Vidal was the protagonist of the crash and that a driver from one of the cars involved had been let free, but will be called to testify as a witness. CNN tried unsuccessfully to reach him.
He said Vidal was detained for driving in a “drunk state,” which under Chilean law is a more serious offence that being “under the influence” of alcohol.
After playing for Juventus in the European Champions League final on June 6, Vidal returned to Chile, who are hosting the Copa America — Latin America’s leading international football tournament.
He is the tournament’s top scorer with three goals from two games, guiding Chile to a win and a draw.
Given his importance to the Chile team, Vidal’s involvement in the crash, has brought some withering criticism from local media pundits.
“[Vidal] f***ed over his teammates, coach, shirt &, most seriously, those who dream of the Copa,” tweeted journalist Manuel de Tezanos. “There’s 17m of us.”
“It’s very serious to let this happen right in the middle of the Copa América,” José Sulantay, a former coach of Chile’s Under-20 team who worked with Vidal, told CNN Chile.
“This kind of stuff doesn’t happen [when they’re playing] in Europe. I don’t understand coach Jorge Sampaoli and I don’t understand Vidal.”
However, in a media conference Wednesday, Sampaoli said he had no intention of excluding Vidal from Chile’s squad.
“It doesn’t seem right to me to exclude someone just for making a mistake,” said the Chile coach.
The crash reportedly took place in Buin, around 40km south of Santiago and Vidal was taken to the San Luis de Buin hospital for treatment.
Chile has a “zero tolerance” approach to drink driving, meaning there is no maximum limit for alcohol.
Vidal could face three years in jail, and a driving ban. It’s believed to be his first offense.
He is more likely to receive a driving ban of two years, as there were no serious injuries and it’s his first offense.
The Copa America hosts face Bolivia in their final group stage game on Friday.
