Two dead in 50-car pile-up

29 March 2004

ZARAGOZA- Two women died and 15 people were injured Sunday in a 50-plus-car highway pileup in Zaragoza province, it was reported Monday.

The accident happened at 6pm on Sunday near Calatayud, at the 244-kilometre marker of the A-2 highway connecting Madrid and Barcelona, rescue workers told EFE.

Witnesses said the pile-up started when two cars crashed into a truck and other vehicles were unable to stop because of the snow on the road.

The two women who died were in one of the cars involved in the initial collision. Their car was crushed between two other vehicles.

Of the 15 people injured, two are in serious condition.

Another person was badly hurt but is in stable condition, and 12 suffered minor injuries, a spokesman from the Aragon regional government said.

The two-hour rescue effort was mounted by personnel from local police and hospitals, firemen and the highway system’s Civil Guard.

A witness told EFE: “It was impossible to control the car. I even saw the accident from 100 meters (some 330 feet) away (and tried to stop) but the vehicle kept on going. I could not control it.”

Another driver, who also crashed nearby, said: “The only thing that could be done was to prepare for the crash as best you could. I chose to hit the guardrails.”

The tragedy came after 16 other people died in fatal collisions on Spain’s roads between Friday and Sunday night.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news