A dramatic car crash on the Ajijic highway early Monday, June 25 left four passengers injured and extensive additional damage in its wake.
The accident occurred around 4:30 a.m. at the intersection of Calle Galeana in front of the Oxxo convenience store. Riding inside the vehicle, a blue Toyota sedan bearing Jalisco plates, were three men and one women, all reportedly residents of Ajijic under age 30.
The strident sound of tearing metal roused a local veterinarian residing near the crash site. He arrived moments later to find the car turned upside down after apparently rolling over multiple times. He observed its passengers sprawled out on the roadway, the traffic light from the south corner broken at its base, and a badly damaged red compact car that had been parked on the side of the road sitting in the middle of the lane several meters beyond the Toyota.
Chapala police arrived to cordon off the crash scene and draw up a preliminary report. A state forensic team appeared later to assess the situation.
Meanwhile, first responders from the Civil Protection and Firefighters Unit and Cruz Roja Chapala took charge of aiding the injured and rushing them to the Red Cross clinic for emergency attention. Due to the severity of their injuries, at least two of the men were transported to Guadalajara for advanced hospital care. The health status of the other passengers has not been revealed.
The presumed driver was admitted under police custody, considering possibilities of being held legally responsible for physical harm to the passengers and property damages. The case is now in hands of the local district attorney’s office.
Chapala Transito Chief Carlo Alejandro Borrayo Guerrero cited excess speed and inebriation as the probable causes of the accident. However, relatives of the injured have spread word that they were fleeing individuals who had attacked them while attending festivities in nearby San Juan Cosalá, adding that the driver lost control of the car while hurrying to find medical attention for wounds inflicted by the assailants.