If you are able to stomach strong scenes of a disaster, watch the video above. It shows a driver of a “monster truck” losing control of the vehicle last weekend in Chihuahua and careening into a crowd of people.
The calamity cost nine lives – four of them minors – and left another 80 people injured. The funeral for some of the victims was earlier today.
The 51-year-old driver of the vehicle has been charged with manslaughter. He claimed that his helmet came off during a jump and that he hit his head on a metal bar in the cabin, losing consciousness and running into the crowd.
The U.S. Monster Truck Racing Association, a Missouri-based trade association, said after the accident that it felt “compelled to publicly condemn the glaring disregard for spectator safety exhibited by the event organizers of the ‘Extremo Aeroshow 2013′ in addition to the clear lack of precautionary safety equipment and safe method of operation exhibited by the vehicle and driver involved.” It went on to say:
“We urge all event promoters as well as anyone planning to conduct a monster truck related event to contact the MTRA for assistance in insuring that all of these safety measures are observed.”
The Chihuahua show lacked a safety zone separating the “monster trucks” from the spectators, this news report says. Moreover, hundreds of people gathered without permission in the pit area of a makeshift arena.