11-year-old American boy among 12 killed in Mexico bus crash: Officials

FAN Editor

Eight Americans — including an 11-year-old boy — are among the 12 people killed when a tour bus crashed in Mexico on Tuesday, according to the Quintana Roo attorney general’s office.

Two of the other fatalities were Swedes, one was Canadian and one was Mexican, said the tourism ministry of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where the crash occurred.

Over a dozen people were injured, including five Americans, the Quintana Roo attorney general’s office said. Tourists from Brazil, Canada and Sweden were also injured.

According to The Associated Press, Quintana Roo state prosecutor Miguel Angel Pech Cen said the preliminary investigation indicates the bus driver’s negligence and potential speeding led him to lose control and leave the road, and when he tried to get back on the narrow path, the bus flipped and hit a tree.

The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for the crimes of homicide, injury and damage, the Quintana Roo attorney general’s office said.

The bus driver was “transferred to Chetumal to receive medical care, but could not be detained at this time but he will be required for the investigations,” the Quintana Roo attorney general’s office said in a statement translated from Spanish.

Vítor Maciel Fontes Jacques, 32, from Brazil, was on the bus.

“There were dead people — we saw some people that were still tied to their seat belt,” he said.

He said he broke his clavicle and a family member suffered a head injury.

American Carrie Vanrenterghem, who traveled with her two daughters to the same excursion on a bus directly in front of the one that crashed, said she saw the bus being towed away on their way back from the Mayan ruins.

Vanrenterghem said that one of the sides of the bus was “smashed” after it fell on its side and that the “whole windshield was gone.”

“You could tell that somebody had probably gone … through the windshield,” she said, describing the scene as a “hard” sight to see.

“It could have been us that could have been on that bus,” Vanrenterghem said. “My prayers are for these families.”

Guests from two cruise ships were on the tour bus, Royal Caribbean said. The cruise ships — the Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas — both left Florida several days ago.

“Our hearts go out to all those involved,” Royal Caribbean spokesman Owen Torres said. “We are doing all we can to care for our guests, including assisting with medical care and transportation.”

The U.S. State Department said in a statement, “We express our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this tragedy. We are in contact with local authorities, and will continue to monitor the situation. We have staff on the scene and at local hospitals to assist victims and loved ones.”

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