Driver in Tarará Car Crash May Have Suffered Heart Attack

The driver who tragically died in the car accident that occurred Friday afternoon in Tarará, Havana del Este, reportedly suffered a heart attack, according to sources on social media. In addition to the deceased, five other individuals sustained serious injuries and were transported to hospitals in the Cuban capital for specialized care.

"Accident in Tarará; five people were injured and taken directly to the operating room. The driver had a heart attack and crashed into the bridge. The SIUM attempted resuscitation, but he couldn't be saved," reported a user in the Facebook group 'Accidentes Buses & Camiones.'

As of this writing, neither authorities nor the official Cuban press have acknowledged the tragic event. This newsroom contacted alleged witnesses who claimed on social media that the accident was caused by the driver's heart attack, but we have not received any confirmation or additional details.

The previous day, a user from this group reported the incident and shared images, confirming that there was "one deceased on the ground" and admitting that the cause of the accident was unknown. Her photograph showed a minivan that had crashed into the railing of a bridge in Tarará, with no apparent involvement of another vehicle. The image also depicted a person on the road, whose body had been covered.

Witness Accounts and Further Details

However, new posts in the mentioned Facebook group provided more information about the incident and a video of the moment the injured were being attended to by the Integrated Medical Emergency System (SIUM). Another user added more details in the comments, claiming to have witnessed the events as they unfolded and to have provided immediate assistance.

"The accident happened at 10 am right in front of us. We all rushed to help. It's very tough to be trapped and unable to get out while calling for help. With the impact, the doors were sealed shut," said the user. She indicated that the driver of the car she was in used a metal bar to unlock the doors. "I have the image and the screams of the poor woman who was in the front with the driver, and of the people in the back when we tried to get them out and they told us their legs were broken."

"When the police and firefighters arrived, we stepped back because ambulances were also arriving, and they really couldn't be moved except by SIUM. It was a very sad scene," she noted.

Although infrequent, heart attacks do cause accidents on Cuban roads. At the end of January, a Cuban man died after presumably suffering a heart attack while driving. Social media posts specified that the tragic incident occurred near the Calvario Bridge in the Arroyo Naranjo municipality. Images showed the vehicle off the road and the man’s body slumped over in the passenger seat.

In late December 2023, a bus driver in Havana died while servicing route A52 (La Palma-El Cotorro). According to the Provincial Transport Company of the Cuban capital, the deceased was José Villavicencio Vaillan, driver of bus 5319 on route A52. Colleagues confirmed he suffered a massive heart attack while driving, but no passengers were injured. "Luckily for the passengers, [the heart attack] happened when one of them requested a stop," a user explained online.

In November 2023, a driver crashed his car into a house in Sancti Spíritus after apparently suffering a heart attack while driving. The incident was reported on Facebook, where a user posted photos of the accident showing the damage caused by the vehicle's impact, which knocked down columns and part of the home's balcony.