A taxi driver caused a horrific crash at the Tour of Costa Rica yesterday when he turned across the front of the speeding peloton, with several riders slamming into the vehicle.
The incident was caught by a spectator on a video uploaded to Twitter. It shows how, once the lead vehicles and front riders passed, the driver spotted a gap and tried to execute a left turn with disastrous consequences as the peloton arrived.
Momento en que taxista embiste ciclistas de la #VueltaCR ¡Imprudentes así deberían salir de las calles! ¡Opine Ud.! pic.twitter.com/06yHDPjJ1h
— Waze Costa Rica (@WazeCR) December 14, 2015
The crash happened in Alajeula during the opening day of the 11-day race, reports the Tico Times, which says that afterwards, a number of the riders confronted the driver, Wilberth Arce, with some of them kicking the taxi.
The motorist says he wasn’t to blame, however, and claims that race officials told him to turn left to get off the road.
“I’m out here trying to make an honourable salary and the cyclists are the ones who acted out with vandalism when they began to kick my car,” he explained.
The worst hurt rider was Felix Aroyo of the Star Cars BCT team, although he was able to complete the stage after receiving medical attention, according to a report in La Nacion.
In a statement on Facebook, race organisers confirmed that legal action would be taken against the taxi driver.
14 thoughts on “Video: Taxi crashes into Tour of Costa Rica peloton”
“The motorist says he wasn’t
“The motorist says he wasn’t to blame, however, and claims that race officials told him to turn left to get off the road.”
He knew what he was doing. If he’d stayed where he was he’d have been fine and nothing would’ve happened. He was already off the road.
I wouldn’t like to be in the
I wouldn’t like to be in the taxi with this guy when he’s using the sat nav. Presumably if it tells him to turn left or right, or make a U turn he just goes right ahead and does it without looking, because that’s what the sat nav told him to do!
“It’s not my fault, someone
“It’s not my fault, someone in authority told me to crash into them. I’m an honourable man, I was only obeying orders”
Absolutly shocking! What is
Absolutly shocking! What is it with people when they are videoing an event and something happens that is worth filming they point the camera at the floor? Keep the lens on the action! And watch your fat fingers!
austinpowers wrote:
At least they didn’t film it in portrait?
pruaga wrote:
I was in London on Saturday for a festive family lunch.
I had the bike and later in the day tagged onto the end of the Santa Skate for a while (500 rollerbladers all in Santa outfits, it was a blast).
My brother, who had headed down there too with his family, spotted me in Knightsbridge and I was delighted to learn he’d filmed them all passing, plus me on the end.
Yeah, vertical video, it turns out. Thanks. Though even the Beeb is at it these days.
https://www.facebook.com/bbcpopup/videos/922790364443251/
austinpowers wrote:
I think she might have been hit/glanced by the flying bike
And so continues my hatred
And so continues my hatred for taxi drivers.
That Tico Times translation
That Tico Times translation isn’t great. The cabbie says he didn’t originally remember whether they cops told him to pass but that according to witness accounts they did. He goes on about how it’s not his fault: “I never saw them”, “I’m out here earning my salary, I didn’t do anything reckless”, and finally (without a hint of irony) “you have to analyze whether or not [someone] is actually at fault” before you lynch them.
Sure, he’s definitely a reckless idiot, but not quite as much of a prick as the original translation suggests, IMHO.
I’ve not had many
I’ve not had many altercations with cars but those that I have have had lead me to believe that people only become minicab drivers when they’re either too stupid, or have too extensive a criminal record, to be normal human beings.
I wouldn’t be surprised to
I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the driver had be a London black cab driver before moving to Costa Rica.
¡Hijo de puta!
¡Hijo de puta!
“The motorist says he wasn’t
“The motorist says he wasn’t to blame” Well of course the motorist is never to blame. Blame is always reserved for the innocent victims.
It’s never the motorists
It’s never the motorists fault is it, just never is?!
Harold Shipman was a good GP, just those patients kept dying on him – not his fault.
As for that iceberg and the Titanic, it’s had a hell of a time too.
Oh for the return of that outdated and dirty concept, personal responsibility.