Local driver wrangles with Greek consulate

The Consulate General of Greece in Shanghai confirmed Tuesday that a car with a diplomatic license plate was involved in a traffic accident with a local resident in January.

A resident surnamed Yuan posed a video clip on his microblog showing that a car with diplomatic plates had hit the right side of his car near the intersection of Hongxu and Guyang roads on January 26.

"The Greek driver changed lanes without flashing his turn signal and bumped my car," Yuan told the Global Times.

Police determined that the driver of the car with diplomatic plates was at fault for the accident, according to a police accident report that Yuan posted on his microblog. A police press officer surnamed Xu told the Global Times that the accident report was genuine.

Yuan said that the consulate has not yet compensated him for the damage to his car.

He said that he called the police, but the Greek driver took several pictures of his car and left before officers arrived.

The Greek consulate disputed the story. It was actually the Chinese driver who hit the Greek driver's car, said Euthymios Athanasiadis, director of the consulate's press department.

The video showed that Yuan tried to prevent the Greek driver's car from changing lanes and cutting in front of him. The two cars traded paint when the Greek driver's car changed lanes a second time.

The Greek driver's car does not belong to the consulate, Athanasiadis said. "The Greek driver, Fotios Koliopoulos, is the husband of one of our employees," he told the Global Times.

Athanasiadis said that Koliopoulos tried to talk to the Chinese driver after the accident, but the other driver refused to get out of his car.

Yuan said he was reluctant to leave the vehicle because he didn't want any conflict with the driver, who shouted to him and slapped on his window.

The video didn't show either the Greek driver shouting or hitting the car.

Athanasiadis said that Koliopoulos planned to cooperate with the police investigation before the weekend.

Yuan said he tried to file a lawsuit against the driver in Changning District People's Court, but the court urged him to try to settle the issue outside the courtroom.