Canadian woman killed in Mexico bus crash
At least 12 dead in rollover as passengers from cruise ships were headed to Mayan ruins
A Canadian woman was killed and her three family members injured following a bus crash in coastal Mexico that claimed the lives of 11 others.
Stephanie Horwood of Gatineau, Que., died in the crash, her motherin-law, Carole Pommet Reinthaler, confirmed after hearing the news from her son.
The woman’s husband, Fred Reinthaler, and the couple’s two daughters, 9 and 11, were injured in the crash. She says it was her son who called from Mexico to break the news to her. Horwood would have turned 42 next week.
The bus was carrying cruise ship passengers to the Mayan Ruins when it flipped over on a narrow highway in the state of Quintana Roo on Tuesday, Global Affairs said.
“Consular officials in Ottawa and in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, are in contact with affected Canadian citizens, as well as family members, and are providing consular assistance as required,” spokesperson Philip Hannan said.
There will be two funeral services, one in Horwood’s native St. John’s, N.L., and the other in Gatineau, Pommet Reinthaler said.
Authorities say of the 31 people on the bus, at least 12 people were killed and 18 were injured. A spokesperson for the Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises said the Canadians were guests on a cruise ship that had left Miami port this past weekend.
“Our 23 guests from Celebrity Equinox and four from Serenade of the Seas were on a bus tour to the Chacchoben Ruins,” the statement said. “We are working with the local authorities to learn more about the accident.”
David Veloz Leon, who witnessed the crash, said the brown tour bus zigzagged across the road and flipped on the driver’s side, ending up on the side of the road. Leon, 27, was stuck on the road for 2 1⁄ hours, as local
2 authorities and ambulances were called to the scene.
The bus he was taking home was unable to move until the two-lane highway was cleared.
“There was broken glass everywhere, dead bodies on the floor, blood everywhere,” he said. “It was terrifying. I’ve never seen anything like that. I was shaking.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation.