Mar del Plata. – Two passengers, one with head trauma and the other with chest trauma, are the only ones still in hospital after the mistake and subsequent overturn of a bus heading to this city from Greater Buenos Aires on a full ticket. The driver in charge of the unit at the time of the accident, who is accused of manslaughter for the deaths of two women he was transporting, refused to testify and He was housed in a prison unit in the neighboring town of Bataan.
Prosecutor German Vera Tapia summoned him to hear his version of events and found nothing but silence from the person he was identified as Hector Giorledo, 48 years old. He suffered some blows and the procedure was postponed until he was released from the Coronel Vidal Municipal Hospital, where he remained under medical care for more than 24 hours.
The incident occurred early last Tuesday morning, at the peak of high temperatures Kilometer 325 of Highway 2towards the coast. There, at a bend, the bus continued to move in a straight line, drifted into a hole approximately three meters deep and fell on the right side. The passengers were traveling to attend the first International Habitat meeting organized by the Buenos Aires Provincial Government in Mar del Plata.
And the two deceased passengers Maria Fernandez and Monica Mendoza died instantly. According to the autopsy, this was due to injuries resulting from a literal crush. Their bodies could only be removed after the bus body was moved with the support of a crane. The first was a fighter from Morón and the second was an official from the municipality of José C. Paz.
Giorlido’s testimony was expected, along with some simple explanations of what happened to serve the judicial investigation. Until now, according to witnesses, he had only been heard from when he was able to leave the unit after the accident: he claimed that another vehicle had crossed him or made a bad maneuver that led to him getting lost.
The other driver who accompanied him has already announced and confirmed that he was asleep when the coup occurred. He confirmed that Giorlido had taken the wheel just over an hour earlier, near Lezama, where they stopped mid-flight and had coffee.
The public prosecutor confirmed that the bus He had all his documents in orderIncluding insurance, and the same driver accused of deaths and injuries as well. The required expert reports were carried out, including alcohol tests at the scene and blood tests. The results were negative.
Vera Tapia asked to ensure justice for Giorlido He remains detainedThis was granted, although he does not rule out that the official defense that assists him during the next few hours will obtain his freedom and the possibility of continuing the operation in that state.
Experts work on different Items and evidence collected at the scene They are awaiting other data, including the unit’s mechanical expertise, which will be implemented on December 10. The suspicion is that the driver He was distracted or asleepThere is no record of him trying to avoid or evade the mistake.
The passengers themselves admit, in their testimonies before justice, that they did not notice any strange movement until they drifted towards the grass and then into that ditch, where there was no water but only some mud.
Among the passengers in this unit, they helped each other and were able to leave the bus. The immediate arrival of police, firefighters and medical teams allowed the injured to be referred, who were distributed to the nearest municipal hospitals, Coronel Vidal and General Beran.
From there, due to the most serious clinical cases, 14 people were ordered to be transferred to the Mar del Plata General Acute Hospital, which treats very complex cases. Only two of those hospitalized for the event are still there.