A large truck crashed into a crowd of people gathered on the Interamericana highway near the town of Nahuala, located west of Guatemala City on Wednesday night, killing dozens and leaving bodies scattered on the road.
At least 33 people died in the crash, with another 19 people being treated for injuries at local hospitals.
The semi-trailer truck fled the scene after the accident.
The hit and run occurred at km 159.5 after a crowd of people gathered on the highway after an earlier hit-and-run accident killed a local resident. “It seems that the semi-trailer did not notice the number of the people on the roadway and ran them over,” said Cecilio Chacaj spokesperson for the Bomberos Municipales Departamentales (local fire department).
Footage posted on social media showed bodies strewn on the road, while several people cried out shouting for help.
President Jimmy Morales offered his condolences to the victims’ families and said his government was working to coordinate aid to those affected.
“At this time we are coordinating our response to bring full support to the relatives of the victims,” Morales wrote on Twitter. “My heartfelt condolences.”
The crash marked one of the country’s worst traffic accidents in recent years.
In 2013, a bus plunged off a cliff in rural Guatemala, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens.