« The day just changed | Main | A quick check this »

I just went out

I just went out and met a couple from the States who are flying up to Quito. They are tourists who were involved in a terrible bus accident on Monday. Early in the morning on Monday a bus was five miles out outside of Shell, flying down the hill towards the the bridge over the Alpayacu river. Just before the bridge, the right front tire blew and the bus smashed into the reinforced guardrail on the bridge. A lot of debris and glass was thrown into the river (the MKs favorite swimming hole) as the bus came to an abrupt stop. There were many tourists on the bus, both from the US and Europe, as well as Ecuadorians. About ten or twelve of them were brought to the Hospital Vozandes del Oriente, the HCJB hospital in Shell. Because of the way the bus hit the guardrail, almost every one of the injuries were to the lower extremities. One man from Europe needed to have his leg amputated below the knee, and was then flown up to Quito that afternoon on an MAF plane. Because they still couldn't stablize him at the hospital there, they had to amputate his leg above the knee. Can you imagine coming to Ecuador on a three week vacation and leaving without your right leg!? What a terrible thing to have happen. The lady going on the flight to Quito today had surgery on her lower leg and has an external and internal apparatus holding the bones together. Her travelling companion was unhurt. There are quite a few of us here who regularly ride the inter-provincial buses. I've known all along that they aren't the safest way to travel, and now I'm sure of it. The bus drivers are crazy, the way they drive on these roads. I heard some people say the bus driver from Monday's accident fled the scene. Apparently that's not all that uncommon, since if they stick around they are likely to get beaten.