At about 5:30 on Wednesday morning, April 1, a truck loaded with dairy products came down the road between Zipaquirá and Ubaté in Cundinamarca, Colombia, and did not slow. Cars and a motorcycle were queuing at the Casablanca tollbooth. The truck drove through the line of booths and into them.
Five people died and 21 were injured. Video shared on social media shows the vehicles waiting in line, then the truck appearing at speed from the opposite direction with no sign of braking. Explosions and flying debris follow. Moments later drivers climb out of their cars and security staff run toward the wreckage. After clearing the booths the truck overturned and stopped.
Fire, and a rising count
Fire took hold of several vehicles and damaged the toll structure. Images posted by Governor Jorge Emilio Rey showed cars burned out completely, wreckage strewn across the carriageway and emergency crews at work. According to an official statement, the truck reached the toll without brakes and hit six private vehicles and a motorcycle. Colombia’s El Tiempo, quoted by Yahoo Noticias, said the crash involved at least six vehicles and that mechanical failure was a possible cause.
The death toll climbed through the day. EFE reported that authorities first put it at four after two more victims died, one of them a minor. Rey wrote on X that the figure could change as rescue work went on. Later he confirmed five dead: four found in the same car, and a motorcyclist struck by the truck.
Of the 21 injured, 19 were adults and two were minors. One of the children was in critical condition and was taken to a hospital in Bogotá.
A holiday exodus
The timing made matters worse. The crash happened on the eve of the Holy Week long weekend, when tens of thousands of travellers were expected to leave Bogotá. The toll is about 50 kilometres from the capital. Authorities closed the road during the rescue and the removal of the wrecked vehicles, and drivers were told to take other routes.
In a later update the governor said emergency teams were still working at Casablanca. Traffic was being allowed through in a controlled way, and he expected the corridor to reopen fully that night.
Sources
- Un camión sin frenos atravesó una cabina de peaje en Colombia y arremetió contra una fila de autos (Yahoo Noticias)
- Cuatro muertos y 21 heridos deja un aparatoso accidente en un peaje del centro de Colombia (EFE, via Yahoo Noticias)
