Bus fleeing Haiti crash scene hits musicians, killing 38

The driver lost controlof the bus which did not stop after a hit-and-run accident.
The driver lost control of the bus which did not stop after a hit-and-run accident. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

PORT-AU-PRINCE • A bus speeding away from the place of a hit-and-run accident ploughed into dozens of street musicians in Haiti , killing at least 38 people.

Fifteen people were injured in Sunday's incident in Gonaives, a city of some 300,000 people that lies about 150km north-west of the capital Port-au-Prince.

"First, the bus ploughed into two pedestrians, killing one of them, and injuring the other," Ms Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, head of Haiti's civil protection office, said.

The driver then rammed into three groups of street musicians as he tried to speed away.

"The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside," said Mr Faustin Joseph, civic protection coordinator for the department of Artibonite, where regional capital Gonaives is located.

Thirty-four people were killed at the scene and another four died in hospital, said Mr Fred Henry, the area's deputy representative.

"Usually, the drivers involved in such accidents don't stop because they are afraid they might be killed (in reprisal)," he added.

After the accident, other musicians and people in the parade began hurling rocks at the bus and passing vehicles, injuring other people.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 14, 2017, with the headline Bus fleeing Haiti crash scene hits musicians, killing 38. Subscribe