Police motorcycle strikes three pedestrians during Madrid Pride, one seriously injured
A municipal police officer on a motorcycle struck three young women crossing Gran Vía during Madrid's LGTBI Pride celebrations on Saturday night, leaving one with a possible femur fracture. The vice-mayor said the rest of the week-long event passed without major incidents.
A million-strong celebration
Madrid's 2026 Orgullo (MADO) festivities ran from Wednesday's opening pregón through Saturday's massive demonstration along Paseo del Prado. Organizers put attendance at over one million people. Vice-mayor Inma Sanz noted that Saturday drew the largest crowds, with events spread across Sol, Zerolo and Plaza del Rey (rebranded Plaza de las Reinas). Heat complicated the medical response: Samur-Protección Civil treated 200 people over the week, mostly for heat-related issues and sprains, and made 32 hospital transfers.
During all these days there were a multitude of events, different stages, the Saturday demonstration itself, which logically draws the most people, and there was no notable incident.
- Pregón opens Madrid Orgullo 2026 celebrations
- Manifestation draws over a million people along Paseo del Prado
- Police motorcycle strikes three pedestrians on Gran Vía
- Vice-mayor reports 200 Samur interventions, 32 transfers
The collision at Gran Vía and Calle Clavel
At around 22:00 on Saturday, a municipal police officer from the Arganzuela unit was riding an electric motorcycle along an emergency lane on Gran Vía reserved for ambulances and police vehicles. Three women in their twenties were crossing at a pedestrian crossing near Calle Clavel. The officer lost control of the motorcycle and struck them. Witnesses described panic and screams as all four people fell to the ground; the woman who took the most direct impact rolled several metres along the asphalt.
Injuries and hospital transfers
The most seriously injured victim, a 26-year-old, was taken to Hospital Clínico San Carlos with a possible femur fracture. A second friend with contusions and minor injuries was also transported to Clínico, while the third was sent to Hospital de La Paz with superficial bruises. The police officer sustained minor injuries and is currently on leave.
Investigation points to possible mechanical failure
The motorcycle has been sent for expert examination. Police sources told EL MUNDO that a mechanical failure is the leading hypothesis. Some witnesses said the officer "didn't have time to brake," while others reported that "the bike just went out from under him." Police sources added that other officers had been giving way to pedestrians to cross Gran Vía at the time of the accident.
At the moment of the accident other police officers had given way to pedestrians so they could cross from one side of Gran Vía to the other...
Overall balance
Inma Sanz stressed that beyond this accident, the entire MADO 2026 unfolded with "complete normality, as has been usual in Madrid in recent years." Samur's 200 interventions and 32 transfers were described as mostly mild, with heat and minor twists the main causes.
