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1 Killed After Alleged Drunk Driver Plows Into Bike Race
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
A car driven by an alleged drunken driver plowed into a bicycle race along a highway near the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday, killing one cyclist and injuring 10 others.
Juan Campos was apparently drunk and had fallen asleep at the wheel before crashing into the race in Monterrey, Mexico, police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez said.
A photograph taken by a city official shows the horrifying moment of impact. The force of the collision sent bicyclists and equipment high into the air and Matamoros newspaper El Mañana described children crying, women shouting for help and men trying to lynch Campos before police arrived to arrest him.
Killed in the crash was Alejandro Alvarez, 37, of Monterrey.
Campos told police he was an American citizen from Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. consulate could not immediately confirm that.
"We are looking into the incident in terms of whether American citizens were involved,'' consulate spokesman Todd Huizinga told the Associated Press.
The crash happened 15 minutes into the race along a highway between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros, authorities said.
A total of 452 cyclists were participating in the 21-mile race, which was canceled after the incident.
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