“Don’t expect different results if you always do the same”, famous phrase of A. Einstein that we should put into practice if we do not want to continue lamenting the systematic and useless loss of human lives, product of the combination of the passivity and inoperability of the authorities, and the informality or illegality with which we coexist on a daily basis.
Fifteen days after the tragedy in the Nicolini Gallery, we were once again silent witnesses of another unfortunate event that could have been prevented, this time the crash of a tourist bus descending from the Cerro San Cristobal viewpoint in Rimac, This happened last Sunday afternoon, paradoxically, one day before celebrating the patron saint of truck drivers and drivers, San Cristobal, whose invocation represents prudence in this activity.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has initiated ex officio a preliminary investigation to determine the causes of the accident and individualize the presumed responsible parties, being an indispensable act of proof the technical expertise to be carried out by the PNP Traffic Accident Investigation Unit, which will establish the determining and contributing factors of the accident, among them: the conditions in which the vehicle was at the time of the accident, it has been reported that the tires were worn out, it is a bus with a changed chassis which would show that it would not have a point or center to maintain balance, that the passengers did not have seat belts, it will also be important to establish the conditions of the road at the time of the accident (non-existent guardrails, railings, state of the track, existence of breaking springs, etc.). All this analyzed together and in the light of the images captured on video at the moment of the accident will allow delimiting the responsibilities arising from the accident and who should be sanctioned.
The 25th Provincial Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Lima initiated an ex officio investigation of the driver, Goytzon Bravo Tocas, as the author of the crimes of negligent homicide and injuries, being evident his reckless conduct by driving at excessive speed according to the images captured on video. He has been ordered to be remanded in custody for 9 months; he is still recovering at the Madison Clinic in Santa Fe.
However, in this case there are civil and criminal responsibilities that will be delimited as the investigations progress. It is already evident that the Green Bus company, as the employer and owner of the vehicle, will be included in the subsequent criminal process as a third party civilly responsible (who will concur with the defendants regarding the payment of the civil reparation or indemnification).
On the other hand, it has been mentioned that the competence for the granting of circulation licenses is exclusive to the Municipality of Lima (Castañeda), while the Rímac (Peramàs) is in charge of supervising and administering the tourist activity, overlapping functions and “alleged” legal loopholes that are used to continue with a lethal informality, and to privilege IMPUNITY, Once again, the State will ignore its role to watch over the prevention of legal assets of the first order in this type of event, despite the fact that the local authorities have a duty to guarantee the proper management and operation of a source of danger, however, the circulation of a panoramic vehicle whose dimensions make it impossible to travel on this road, let alone full of passengers, was allowed.
In addition to the existence of calamitous thefts that were captured by passers-by, beyond the reprehensible conduct, it is noteworthy that despite the presence of a large number of police officers and the fact that the accident occurred near the Patao barracks, in the vicinity of the PNP Shooting Club, acts of looting occurred that should have been prevented. And finally, the conduct of the directors of Clinics and Hospitals, once again showing little sense of solidarity, claiming lack of implements, refused to attend to the wounded, making the emergency law Law No. 27604, regarding the obligation of health facilities to provide medical care in case of emergencies and childbirth fall on deaf ears, According to the director of the Association of Victims of Traffic Accidents, if there is no SOAT or MONEY, people die, facts that should be exemplarily punished both in the criminal and administrative sphere.
