Two buses were involved in a head-on collision near Arizona, south of the United States-Mexico border. The buses were carrying workers at a gold mine; sixteen people were killed, and 14 others were injured.
According to the Sonora Attorney General’s Office, the incident took place on Tuesday at 3:36 a.m. local time near the Noche Buena mine entrance. The mine is close to a two-hour drive south of Lukeville, Arizona.
The two buses involved in the crash were being used to shuttle the workers to the mine. Pictures in a news release showed the buses’ head-on collision obstructing the two-lane road.
The smaller bus of the two carried 16 passengers, all of which died on scene. The larger bus of the two carried the 14 other people we were injured during the accident who were transported to Caborca in Sonora.
Forensic staff inspected the two buses after the crash, identifying the individuals who were killed and injured. All victims involved in the crash are from Mexico. The 14 survivors are being hospitalized, sustaining major bruises and fractures.
The British-Mexican firm Fresnillo PLC. owns the Noche Buena gold mine. It is an open-pit gold mine located some distance away from the city of Caborca, Sonora. The company did not make a comment on the incident. According to their website, Fresnillo PLC. has operated the mine since 2012.
This past Friday, five people were killed in a multi-vehicle collision just a few hours north of the gold mine incident. Michael Sytsma, a 37-year-old from Cave Creek, and four others were killed on US-60 due to a wrong-way crash.
The incident took place around 10:30 p.m. on the highway in the westbound lanes. Emergency crews arrive around 55 miles NW of Phoenix.
Sytsma was traveling in a white 2005 Nissan Titan pickup-truck heading east on the westbound lanes; he did not have his headlights on. This led to him striking a 2020 Chevrolet SUV head-on. The SUV then caught on fire before being completely engulfed in flames.
According to investigators, Sytsma was the only person in the pickup-truck; he died on scene. Four people occupied the SUV and died on scene as well.
Medical examiners had a difficult time identifying the victim sin the SUV because of the fire. Officers are currently awaiting Sytsma’s toxicology report to determine if he was intoxicated at the time of the accident or not.
According to Arizona Police, wrong-way collisions are a, sadly, a common occurrence in the area.
The attorneys at Sweet James would like to extend their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased victims. May you find comfort and strength during this time.
