A brutal road accident shocked Santiago del Estero province on Monday, when a car and a pickup truck collided head-on on National Route 9, in the Río Hondo department. According to the Argentine News Agency, the toll is devastating: five people died instantly and three others are fighting for their life in a regional health center. The accident occurred after 1 p.m. near the town of Arbolito. For reasons that criminalistics experts are trying to establish, a Volkswagen Voyage and a Toyota Hilux pickup truck collided at high speed on a straight section of the road, causing a scene of total destruction. The violence of the impact left no chance for five of the occupants, who died at the scene before emergency services arrived. Meanwhile, three survivors were rescued from the wreckage and urgently taken to the Integral Health Center (CIS) in Termas de Río Hondo. While the police is withholding the identities of the five fatal victims pending notification of their families, the names of those hospitalized with a reserved prognosis have been released: Eduardo Palomino, an official from the Amicha municipality; Niten Corregidor and Camila Bulacio. The three have injuries of varying severity and are under strict medical observation at the Las Termas health complex. At the accident site, personnel from Community Police Station No. 57 worked alongside volunteer firefighters and road accident specialists. Preliminary investigations aim to determine if the crash was caused by a failed overtaking maneuver or a mechanical failure in one of the vehicles involved. Due to the magnitude of the accident, traffic on Route 9 was partially interrupted for several hours while rescue teams worked on removing the vehicles and cleaning the asphalt.
