Seatbelts Save Lives

Earlier this month, five people from the same family, French nationals travelling through the town of Pancorbo in Burgos during their vacation.

At 07:42 on the 5th of September, the vehicle they were travelling in was in collision with a truck.

Other than suffering minor physical injuries and tremendous psychological trauma, the truck driver was unhurt. However, tragically, the same was not the case for the five occupants of the car.

Two women, aged 60 and 32, a girl aged 9, and two boys aged 7 and 3, all lost their lives in the incident.

The investigation concluded that the driver of the car had fallen asleep at the wheel, invading the opposite carriageway and colliding with the truck heading in the opposite direction, then hitting the wall of the gorge..

The investigation also revealed that the vehicle was carrying six people, rather than the maximum of five is was designed to.

The driver of the car was the only occupant to survive the crash, now having to live with the consequences.
In the rear seats, his wife and children were not wearing seatbelts, or any form of restraining system, and were trapped in the wreckage. In the front seats, the driver and his mother-in-law were wearing seatbelts.

Both the driver of the truck and the car tested negative for alcohol or drugs.

Some of the scenes in this video may be distressing…