QCOSTARICA – Traffic accidents continue to take lives and leaves many injured on our roads, with speeding, careless driving and under the influence the leading causes of the carnage.
Just in 12 hours, three children were sent to hospital and a motorcyclist lost his life in two separate accidents.
The first, minutes before 5:00pm, in what witnesses say a speeding SUV with at least three children inside, hit a taxi on the Calle Morenos, the road that connects La Sabana and Hatillo. Witnesses said the SUV was speeding, crossed the median, hitting the oncoming taxi, spun out of control, landing in the opposite direction, in the ditch, against the retaining wall.
Fortunately no deaths were recorded. However, four of the children involved in the accident were taken to hospital and released after a medical evaluation. The adults received multiple, non life threatening injuries.
But, at 5:30am this morning, a motorcyclist was not so lucky, hit by an oncoming vehicle at the intersection east of the airport.
The traffic camera by Telenoticias captured the moment when, it appears the motorcyclist did not heed to the stop sign, crossing the westbound lanes of the highway leading to the airport, when he was hit and dragged for more than 25 metres.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Policia de Transito would not speculate the cause of the accident and if alcohol was involved.
Traffic accident deaths this year to date is at around 350 – almost one a day – with the last of day the year still to go.
Personal note: It was 3:15am this morning, driving into San Jose on the Ruta 27, when a car passed me going well past my 100 km/h, narrowly missing a truck climbing the Santa Ana to Guachipelin hill, going maybe 20 km/h. One of the most dangerous hours to be driving in Costa Rica, in the humble opinion of this writer is between 2:00am and 5:00am.
