The mayor of a commune in Chile
committed suicide
after being detained after being involved in
a drunken traffic accident
and announcing
his resignation from office
through a Facebook post.
This is
Jorge Roa
, in charge of the administration of
Florida
, a small town in the south of the trans-Andean country, 500 kilometers from Santiago.
The incident occurred this Saturday when Roa was driving his vehicle on Route 146 that connects Concepción with Florida, in the Bio Bío region.
According to witnesses, the mayor lost control of the car, hit
a public lighting pole
and ended up with minor injuries.
After the crash, Roa was taken to the community hospital, where a
breathalyzer
test was performed, which showed
1.8 grams of alcohol
per liter of blood, far exceeding the legal limit of that country, which is 0.3.
While at the healthcare facility, the mayor published a farewell message on his Facebook account, where he acknowledged his responsibility in the accident and announced
his irrevocable resignation
from the position he had held since 2016.
“I want to apologize to my family, my friends, my neighbors and everyone who trusted me.
I made a
serious mistake
and I will be consistent and
pay for the crime committed
.
“I cannot continue leading the commune, so I present my resignation from the position of mayor,” Roa wrote.
The text, which was
deleted minutes later
, caused
a stir
among his followers, who sent him messages of support and asked him to reconsider his decision.
However, Roa did not respond to any of them and went to his home, where
he took his own life with a firearm
.
According to his public account, before crashing his car he was "with several friends."
However, he went further, revealing that depression was already affecting him.
"Some time ago
my health began to deteriorate progressively
, I lost a lot of weight, and I was not well physically or psychologically, little by little this affected me a lot, especially the
disloyalties and betrayals
of my trusted personnel."
Who was the Chilean mayor
The news of his death was
confirmed by the governor
of the province of Concepción, Robert Contreras, who regretted the event and expressed his condolences to the family and the community of Florida: “It is a
very painful and sad situation
.
Jorge Roa was a very loved and respected person in his community, where he carried out great social and community work.
We hope that the circumstances of his death are clarified and that the grief of his loved ones is respected,” the authority declared.
Roa, 68, was a member of the
Christian Democracy
party and had been re-elected as mayor of Florida in 2020 with 58.7% of the votes.
Before assuming the mayor's office, he had served as a councilor and as a social and sports leader.
He was the father of three children and was married.
His funeral will be held this Wednesday, February 14, in the community cemetery, after mass in the San José church.
Regional and national authorities, as well as representatives of political parties and social and neighborhood organizations, are expected to attend.
With information from agencies.
D.S.