A careless act by a young driver yesterday afternoon on the autopista General Cañas, near the San José Palacio hotel, caused a massive traffic jam to and from San José and caused the death of one person, when five vehicles, including a bus were involved in the collision.
Tránsito officials report that the young man drove 300 metres the wrong way on the road exiting the General Cañas to San José Palacio, then proceeded to make a sharp right turn to access the autopista, crossing both lanes of traffic, causing a chain reaction between the five vehicles.
One of the vehicles, a mini van headed west, was hit in the rear by a bus, causing it cross the median and hit head on to oncoming traffic, colliding with two vehicles. The driver of one of the vehicles was killed in the crash that left the vehicle mangled.
Witnesses on the scene described it as a scene from an action movie.
The 19 year old driver, Josué Madrigal Brenes, hounded by news cameras said he would maintain his right to keep silent on what had just occurred. The television news cameras hounded the young man on how he felt of the even he had just caused and if he was aware that one person had lost his life because of his negligence.
Brenes shied away from the cameras for several minutes before saying that he would not make any comment.
William Rodríguez Jiménez, the 45 year old man, driving a Hyundai was immediately killed by the impact of the crash.
Fortunately, the spectacular crash did not result in more fatalities or serious injuries. Cruz Roja (Red Cross) officials on the scene reported that they did not transfer anyone to hospital or requiring medical attention, including the three young children riding with their mother nor any of the 70 passengers riding in the bus, who, according to witnesses, the quick reaction of the driver avoided the bus from flipping over.
Traffic congestion getting to or leaving San José lasted for four hours, as the autopista was completely closed off in both directions and traffic was diverted through La Sabana and the Circunvalación.
