Survivors recall horror of truck crash that killed 55

Survivors of the horrific truck crash in Mexico that killed 55 migrants and injured more than 100 recounted from their hospital beds how their location inside the truck determined who lived and who died.

Those unlucky enough to be riding jammed against the fragile walls of the freight container almost certainly died, survivors said. Those in the middle of the packed group survived, cushioned by their fellow migrants as the container flipped onto the road.

“The ones who died were the ones who were up against the walls of the trailer,” said one young migrant from Guatemala, who was being treated for a broken arm at a local hospital. “Thank God, we were in the middle, but the ones on the sides, they died.”

The migrant, who did not want to give his name because he did not have proper documents in Mexico, described a gruesome scene of screaming and blood in the moments after the truck crashed into the base of a steel pedestrian bridge Thursday evening. He said about 250 migrants were on board.