Chihuahua monster truck accident

Last updated
Chihuahua monster truck accident
Date5 October 2013
Location Chihuahua City, Mexico
CauseTruck swerving into the crowd
PerpetratorMonster truck
Deaths8
Non-fatal injuries79
ConvictedFrancisco Velazquez Samaniego
Sentence5 years

The Chihuahua monster truck accident occurred on 5 October 2013 in Chihuahua City, Mexico, when a monster truck crashed into spectators at an air show. [1] [2] Eight people were reported killed, including children, and 79 were injured. [3] Officials and event organizers were blamed for the disaster. [4] [5] To date, it is the deadliest monster truck incident to have occurred.

Contents

Accident

The Extreme Aeroshow was being held at the El Rejon dam, on the outskirts of Chihuahua City. Carlos Gonzalez, spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutors' office, said that the driver "appeared to lose control of the truck after leaping over cars it was crushing during a demonstration". [6]

It was reported that the outdoor arena lacked any visible barriers. [7]

The driver was detained and said in a statement that he hit his head on something inside the cabin and lost consciousness. [3]

Investigation

Governor of Chihuahua César Duarte Jáquez said his administration was investigating whether the Civil Protection authorities had correctly enforced safety regulations. [6] Governor Jáquez announced 3 days of mourning. [7]

Francisco Velázquez Samaniego, the driver of the monster truck, was convicted of reckless homicide and inflicting injury and damage. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay MXN$26 million in restitution. [8] Velázquez maintained that he was unconscious at the time of the accident, and that he had warned organizers that the spectators were too close. He was the only person convicted in relation to the accident. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sknyliv air show disaster</span> 2002 aviation accident

The Sknyliv air show disaster occurred on Saturday, 27 July 2002, when a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27UB piloted by Volodymyr Toponar and co-piloted by Yuriy Yegorov crashed during an aerobatics presentation at Sknyliv airfield near Lviv, Ukraine. The accident killed 77 people and injured 543, 100 of whom were hospitalized. It is the deadliest air show accident in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monster truck</span> Vehicle modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension

A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), they have evolved into purpose-built vehicles with tube-frame chassis and fiberglass bodies rather than metal. A competition monster truck is typically 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, and equipped with 66-inch (1.7 m) off-road tires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multiple-vehicle collision</span> Road traffic accident involving many vehicles

A multiple vehicle collision is a road traffic collision involving many vehicles. Generally occurring on high-capacity and high-speed routes such as freeways, they are one of the deadliest forms of traffic collisions. The most disastrous pileups have involved more than a hundred vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Bourbonnais, Illinois, train crash</span>

On March 15, 1999, Amtrak's southbound City of New Orleans passenger train collided with a semi-trailer truck in the village of Bourbonnais, Illinois, United States. Most of the train derailed, killing eleven people. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the accident attributed the cause to the truck driver trying to beat the train across a grade crossing. The NTSB's recommendations from the accident included increased enforcement of grade crossing signals, the installation of train event recorders at all new or improved grade crossings, and procedures to provide emergency responders with accurate lists of all crew members and passengers aboard trains. The city of Bourbonnais erected a memorial near the site to commemorate those killed in the accident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">César Duarte Jáquez</span> Mexican politician

César Horacio Duarte Jáquez is a Mexican politician, a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, who has twice been a federal deputy. He was President of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico from 2008 to 2009, while representing Chihuahua's ninth district, and he served as Governor of Chihuahua for the period 2010 to 2016. César Duarte is currently under investigation for corruption and an arrest warrant against him and other close members of his government was issued on March 27, 2017. According to the Financial Times in 2018, he was "believed to be in Texas." He was arrested in Miami in July 2020.

The Cottonwood bus crash occurred on the afternoon of February 19, 2008 that involved a school bus carrying 28 students from Lakeview Public Schools near Cottonwood in southwestern Minnesota, United States. The bus was struck on its passenger side by a minivan that drove through a stop sign, which caused the bus to fall over onto a pickup truck, killing four students and injuring 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Oznobishino bus crash</span>

The 2013 Oznobishino bus crash occurred on 13 July 2013 at about 13:00 local time when a bus carrying 64 people was hit by a KAMAZ truck in Oznobishino, Moscow Oblast, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Moscow. At least 18 people died and another 60 people were injured, with 12 of them in a critical condition. 14 of the victims died at the scene and another four died in hospital. The bus had been travelling from Podolsk to Kurkino when the accident occurred, ripping its back half off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chualar bus crash</span> Train and bus crash in California on September 17, 1963

The Chualar bus crash took place on September 17, 1963, when a freight train collided with a makeshift "bus"— a flatbed truck with two long benches and a canopy— carrying 58 migrant farmworkers on a railroad crossing outside Chualar in the Salinas Valley, California, United States, killing 32 people and injuring 25. Because the vehicle was actually a truck carrying people in the back, rather than a bus, the crash is ranked as the deadliest automobile accident in U.S. history, according to the National Safety Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Hualien train derailment</span> Railway accident in Taiwan

On 2 April 2021, at 09:28 NST (01:28 UTC), a Taroko Express train operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) derailed at the north entrance of Qingshui Tunnel in Heren Section, Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan, killing 49 people and injuring at least 200 others. At the time of the accident, the train was carrying 494 passengers. The eight-carriage train derailed after colliding with a construction truck that had fallen down a slope onto the tracks north of Hualien City; the train came to rest in the tunnel, with severe damage and many casualties. The train incident was primarily due to human factors and was preventable, as an investigation from The New York Times, revealed that it was "systemic failures at a government agency" including "a culture of complacency and weak oversight", that had made the disaster possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiapas truck crash</span> 2021 traffic accident in southern Mexico

On December 9, 2021, a traffic accident occurred in the Mexican state of Chiapas when a freight truck smuggling over 180 migrants overturned and hit a bridge. At least 55 people were killed, and over a hundred were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaffrine bus crash</span> 2023 bus crash in central Senegal

On 8 January 2023, 40 people were killed and 101 injured in central Senegal when two buses collided in Gniby near the regional capital of Kaffrine on the N1 national road.

References

  1. "Mexico 'monster truck' crash kills eight at air show". BBC News. 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  2. By Catherine E. Shoichet and Nelson Quinones. "Monster truck crash kills 8, injures dozens in Mexico". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  3. 1 2 "Mexico monster truck accident kills 8, including kids, injures 79". Reuters. 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  4. "Officials blamed in Mexico monster truck crash". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. 2013-10-08. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  5. "Event organisers blamed in deadly Mexico monster truck crash". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  6. 1 2 Chavez, Jose Antonio Sanchez and Ricardo. "Mexican monster truck wreck kills 8, hurts dozens". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  7. 1 2 "Monster Truck Crash Kills Eight At Outdoor Event In Mexico". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  8. 1 2 "Herida aún sigue abierta, hoy 5 años del accidente del Aero Show". El Heraldo de Chihuahua (in Spanish). 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2021-04-04.