six dead and several injured in multiple crash

Six people died and seven others were seriously injured in a pileup in the city of Merida.

The incident occurred at noon on Sunday on Las Américas Avenue, when a bus allegedly without brakes It hit three vehicles and two motorcycles.

The bus – which came from the town of Apartaderos – had mechanical problems when traveling along that avenue but the driver’s efforts to control it were in vain, reported journalist Iván Rivera, who cited witnesses to the incident.

When crossing the traffic light on the third viaduct in Mérida, the bus crossed into the opposite channel and collided with three cars and a motorcycle. The motorcyclist died at the scene. The transport vehicle subsequently crashed into a tree.

Official sources identified the deceased as Carlos León, 65 years old, driver of a Volkswagen; Alexandra Vielma García, 18 months old; Eilyn Vielma, 8 years old; Javier Vielma, motorcycle driver and father of the girls, and Gaudy García, mother of the minors.

University worker Reinaldo De Jesús Sánchez, 53 years old, also died.

Emergency agencies transferred the injured to the Autonomous Institute Hospital Universitario de Los Andes, where they remain under a reserved prognosis.