Costa Maya, Q.R. — A double long tractor trailer loaded with new cars overturned on a roadway outside the town of Nicolás Bravo after being hailed with rocks by highway bandits.
The accident happened around 7:00 a.m. Monday when the shipping trailer, which was arriving from Aguascalientes loaded with 13 new Nissan March cars, overturned. The driver of the unit told authorities that as he was approaching the town, people on motorcycles suddenly appeared and began throwing stones at his windshield.
Although they were unable to break the glass, they did cause him to lose control of the load which eventually tipped over. He was not injured.
Police arrived to find a crowd of people looting parts from the new vehicles. The overturned trailer had lanes in both directions closed.
During his interview with police, the driver admitted that he was tired while driving along the Escárcega-Chetumal road, but did not want to stop for fear of being assaulted, so he carried on.
There have been at least 10 registered assaults along the roadway from Bacalar to Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Tulum in recent weeks. The state governor says that the departure of elements of the Federal Police is one of the reasons for the increased assaults.
He says they are analyzing a strategy with the National Guard to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
“We have a problem derived from the departure of the Federal Police from the surveillance of roads and highways due to budgetary matters at a national level. We are looking for solutions in this regard, a project through the National Guard. It is a matter to be resolved by the State Police despite being a federal section,” explained state governor Carlos Joaquín González.
