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Just 15 minutes in, the third annual Matamoros-Bagdad Cycling Tour in Mexico plunged into chaos when a drunk driver from Texas smashed head-on into the group of riders.
Brownsville resident Juan "Jesse" Campos, who had spent the prior evening partying with booze and cocaine, fell asleep while driving between the towns of Playa Bagdad and Matamoros near the US-Mexico border.
The cyclists had just started making their way along the opposite side of the highway on the 34km race when, tragically, Campos' 1989 Grand Marquis veered off onto the wrong side of the road and slammed into the center of the peloton.
A photographer documenting the race managed to record the moment immediately after the collision: it's a scene of utter carnage, with bodies and equipment thrown into the air.
Campos claims to have no recollection of the crash, and insists that he woke up only afterwards. He's now being held in a Mexican jail while authorities attempt to sort out the case.
30-year-old Brownsville cyclist Alejandro Alvarez was killed in the accident, while ten other riders were seriously injured.
[Photo appears after the jump. Warning: graphic]
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Expect Bruce Todd to add this horrifying photo to his arsenal of anti-bicycling propaganda he'll trot out in front of City Council in the next go-around of the bicycle helmet law he's trying to pass.
Seth
hahahaha!!!!!!! Seth, you are the living end.
Thanks for reminding me of my grandma. I had a good hearty guffaw (trying to stay in character of the thread).
Oh wait. I mean the comment above of course, the accident is horrible and the picture quite graphic.
Seth's right. The bike-hating car culturists will find a way to blame the cyclists for this tragic accident.
"Look! That one cyclist isn't even wearing a helmet! Serves him right. (Oh, there it is, flying through the air 50 feet away.)"
Can you imagine the vitriolic spew that would come from Lou Dobbs and his down-with-brown Republican nativist ilk if this were a Mexican driver and the accident occured on the Texas side of the border? This photo would be everywhere, and we'd be getting geared up to declare war on Mexico.
snuff
OMG! That makes my stomach turn, at the same time I wonder how much of the detritus left behind will end up on ebay...
Why couldn't Juan "Jesse" Campos have done this in San Fransisco?
NateDogg12 - you are an idiot. Go look for a damaged bike on eBay - maybe you could go ride on the freeway.
Morons from Texas killing other Texans - how does this translate to San Francisco?
This story is disgusting - another Texas loser parties all night and kills someone.
I live in a city where people bike frequently. And I think that's great. However people here walk even more frequently, and I can't tell you the number of times I've nearly been plowed down by a cyclist whose "share the road" philosophy applies only to him/herself and not to pedestrians in crosswalks. Drivers can be horrible, I'm not denying that; but I'd like to see the press issue photos of pedestrians who have been hurt by inconsiderate cyclists as well. Because it's a serious problem and people should be made aware of it.
This isn't exactly the example to use to dis bicycle advocacy. But I do agree with Bostonist. I get so annoyed when cyclists use the sidewalk (which is illegal in my city) and zoom past you from behind like they can predict you're not suddenly going to shift to the left and have handlebars crash into your spinal cord. There needs to be some kind of pedestrian awareness. I can't tell u how many times I have been almost hit by both bikes and cars. Oh and then there are the cyclists who use the road but don't follow the rules of stopping @ stop signs or red lights. Assholes.
I like cyclists like the next duck, and I think this accident is deplorable. But I wish more cyclists actually followed traffic laws. I'm in favor of adding more bike lanes to our streets in order to keep them safe from drivers and vice versa.
Isn't the real tragedy in this article the death and injury of people due to drunk driving? I can't stand it when I see cyclists disobeying traffic laws (stoplights, stopsigns, pedestrians having the right-of-way) but I can't remember ever hearing of a drunk cyclist doing damage to anyone other than themselves.
The tragedy is the innocent cyclists who were mowed down by a stupid, drugged, drunk driver. Re-read the article ... I read that the cyclists were "making their way along the opposite side of the highway" - meaning opposite from the drunk driver. By the photo account, the cyclists were in the right lanes - the correct lanes - and the drunk driver swerved into the oncoming lanes. So, there is no argument about cyclists' right of way or disobeying traffic laws. Get over your agendas and let's just give due respect to the cyclists, their friends and family members. And, hopefully, the Mexican judicial system will properly deal with the driver.
I think it's important to remember this was an organized ride with a police escort. Imagine if this guy had done the same thing during the Austin Marathon. People would be in an uproar. As it is, the guy is looking at 1-2 years in jail. That's justice.
I have to agree here and save the cyclist vs. car vs. pedestrian argument for another day. With that said, will someone please post someting about cyclists rights in Austin, I need somewhere else to push my "If you want rights, obey the lights" campaign.
I agree. This is a tragedy. Drunk drivers suck.
Dangerous cyclists are a minor irritant by comparison.
For every bicyclist who blazes a stop sign or red light, there are a dozen jaywalking pedestrians and thousands of drivers talking or texting on cellphones. I'd also wager that for every lawless bicyclist, there's a hundred drivers out there breaking the same rules of the road. The difference is that few of these bicyclists kill other people in collisions. If a bicyclist bumps into you on the sidewalk, you should recognize that's the same type of idiot who would also bump into you if he were behind a steering wheel. Bet you're glad it's a bike, though.
Seth
Example from my drive home today. Heading west on Barton Springs, sitting to turn left at Robert E. Lee. Light is green for both east and westbound traffic and it's heavy rush hour time. Cyclists bombing down the bike lane heading west in the EASTBOUND bike lane. Here's where it gets fun, the crosswalk for pedestrians is "walk" for those crossing east and west over Robert E Lee. Traffic is moving fairly quickly and people are turning right onto Robert E Lee from the eastbound lane as they have a right to do. Wouldn't you know, without hesitation, those cyclists heading the wrong way in the wrong bike lane just decide to start using the crosswalk to make there left hand turn; bike almost got clipped and he was looking all kinds of pissed off at the car who did absolutely nothing wrong. The cyclist broke what, 3-4 laws in a 5 second span and almost caused a bike vs. car collision. These are the people I see way too often and the ones who are the reason why cyclist and everyday law abiding bike riders will not get much respect when asking for more benefits from the city.
That is some backasswards thinking. If the city spent more on safe bike lanes, we'd likely see a reduction in bad biking behaviors.
That is a fucking retarded stereotype you've applied to cyclists. By that same dumbass reasoning, when you see people walking in the street against traffic, you revoke all support for more pedestrian enhancements like sidewalks and crosswalks. I see idiots walking against traffic in the street all the time, but it doesn't make me lose respect for pedestrians.
Seth
I think you're missing my point. When it comes to public discussion about improving the city to be more bike friendly, there is a very large contingent on non-riders who see this type of behavior and apply that logic that all riders are like that. Same applies for those who still cross the Lamar bridge and ignore the "for emergency use only" signs. People see them as riders who feel they are above rules and regulations, so why give them more benefits built from their tax dollars.
I totally agree that adding bike lanes would make things safer for everyone and I'm all for it. My point was that not everyone thinks like that and when they see someone like yesterday (as 50-60 people driving cars did) it does not make them feel all warm and fuzzy about saying "You know, that cyclist needs some of my tax dollars to improve his experience."
I see idiots walking against traffic in the street all the time
You're supposed to walk against traffic.
OWNED
GA, cyclists can use the Lamar bridge as long as they ride in the traffic lane (which is what I used to do when I lived over there, since the Pfluger Bridge is useless for cyclists who aren't just riding in circles on the H&B trail).
Useless? Circles? You gotta be kidding me.
I'd rather cruise over to the shoal creek underpass than share a lane on the lamar bridge.
I commute because i LIKE riding my bike around. Oh, i mean because it gives me a free pass through red lights.
Useless if you're trying to get somewhere and don't have an infinite amount of time. In my case it was usually trying to get to UTC meetings from Clarksville. You have to yield way too much right-of-way to use the damn bridge, but it looks good next to the Lance Armstrong Stopway that's almost open.
The Lance Armstrong sidewalk, isn't it?
Kind of, but sidewalks don't have stop signs. That's how you know it's the Lance Armstrong Stopway.
(I wish I had time to go take pictures and write about it - it's really sad how everything I warned against - and even voted against once - while on the UTC came to pass and it's turned into such a waste of pavement).