Chapala area first responders were kept busy during the final days of Carnaval festivities, attending to a slew of highway accidents and other mishaps.
A 32-year-old Chapala woman lost her life when the 2004 Honda she was driving collided with a 2015 Hyundai on Sunday, March 3 around 2:15 p.m. on the Guadalajara-Chapala highway just before the turn-off to the Libramiento bypass. The driver of the other car and eight passengers between the two vehicles were treated for less severe injuries.
At 4:20 p.m. the same afternoon, a male resident of San Juan Tecomatlán suffered injuries and frayed nerves after the 1989 VW Jetta he was driving caught fire while traveling on the Chapala-Mezcala highway.
Less than two hours later, rescue teams rushed to the site of a two-car crash that occurred in the southbound lane of the Chapala-Guadalajara highway just north of Chapala Haciendas, involving a 2004 Chevy driven by a man from Tlaquepaque and a 2013 BMW driven by a woman from Riberas del Pilar with two passengers aboard. All persons survived the incident with only minor injuries. Four lanes of vehicles heading in and out of Chapala were rerouted to the north-bound lane and connecting streets during a massive traffic jam lasting several hours until the damaged cars were removed from the scene.
Inbound traffic got tied up again around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 5 when a dump truck loaded with gravel lost its brakes as it entered Chapala at the north end of Avenida Madero, plowing into three cars traveling ahead of it near the junction with Avenida Pepe Guizar. Two female passengers were treated for minor injuries at the Cruz Roja clinic.
Paramedics from Chapala’s Civil Protection unit were also called to assist patients who suffered falls while walking at different points in the community and mishaps at various Carnaval events.