Pothole Cause Of Fiery
Crash
A driver avoiding a pothole in front of the
Lagarto bridge en Chomes, Puntarenas, on the Interamericana norte
was the cause of two tractor trailers
crashing on the bridge, one loaded with
24.000 litres of diesel burst into flames,
causing the complete closing of the highway,
choking off all vehicular traffic to and
from Liberia from Puntarenas.
The Interamericana norte is also the primary
route to the rest of Central America.
The accident occurred around 2:30pm on
Monday and as of this morning the road closure
continues as authorities continue the clean
up and wait the arrival of a team of experts
to evaluate the structural condition of the
bridge that was damaged by the fire that
reached a heat of 1.000 degrees Celsius.
The Policia de Tránsito (traffic police)
said that, according to witnesses, the
collision was between two large trucks, one
of them loaded with diesel fuel, a result of
a driver of a Toyota that swerved to avoid
the pothole, causing one of the trucks to
cross the median in the middle of the
bridge, colliding head on with the tanker
truck, which was headed for Liberia from San
José.
The Toyota was driven by an American
tourist, who was not identified by
authorities.
The impact was head on between the two large
trucks, causing the fuel in the tanker truck
to explode when the side of the tanker was
sheared from what appeared the steel girders
of the bridge.
The accident occurred at a point in the
highway that makes it impossible for traffic
to detour, especially the large trucks that,
one cannot make a u-turn due to their size,
and one the alternate route through
Monteverde is primarily rural, meaning dirt
and gravel roads, that are not adequate for
heavy traffic. The other alternate route
through Punta Morales was also chocked off
when two big trucks collapsed the road due
to the heavy weight and traffic.
"They only fix things when something
happens", José Villalobos, one of the
witnesses of the accident, said before the
television cameras.
The pothole immediately before the bridge
has been there for almost two years. It is
pretty deep and frequent users of the
highway know it well.
But, for some reason, the Ministerio de
Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) has
failed to repair it, and even worse, provide
any warning signalization at the point.
The Cuerpo de Bomberos (firefighters) worked
all afternoon to control the flames.
So far only one person was reported killed
in the crash, a young man travelling with
the driver of the tanker truck that
exploded. The driver of the tanker and that
of the other truck involved in the collision
survived the crash.
Transport officials say it is unlikely that
the Interamericana norte will be re-opened
today.
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INTERAMERICANA CONTINUES CLOSED
7:55am, the Interamerican Norte continues closed. Authorities say it is unlikely it will re-open today.
See the video below |
