The driver of a truck that provoked a deadly accident at atoll booth near Jalostotitlán last week tested positive for amphetamine, the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office revealed.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Juan Guadalupe “N” can be held in pre-trial “preventive detention” under a charge of first-degree homicide, up to a maximum of two years, while the legal case plays out.
The driver plowed his truck into a Nissan Tsuru waiting at a payment booth, killing all four occupants — three women and a man, residents of Guanajuato. The vehicle then continued its trajectory, colliding with eight other compact cars and three cargo vehicles, injuring eight people.
Video recorded on a cell phone immediately after the incident showed the driver on the ground, having been restrained by toll booth staff, in a state of agitation, talking incoherently about being “persecuted” by persons who he believed were trying to kill him.
Transportation companies may be liable for accidents incurred by employees driving under the influence of stimulants. Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Ministry (SCT) is also responsible for maintaining a surveillance program to check that drivers are not working exhausting hours or consuming stimulants.
“Synthetic drugs are often consumed by people carrying out activities that require staying awake,” Víctor Nodal, of the University of Guadalajara Department of Basic Psychology, told the Mural newspaper.
Jalisco Attorney General Gerardo Octavio Solís Gómez said the issue of whether the brakes of the truck failed is a matter for experts to resolve during the investigation.