A tragedy almost did not occur in Mexico.
While the 38th edition of the
Guadalajara Half Marathon
was taking place , held last Sunday, a runner who was meters from the finish line was
run over by a motorcycle carrying one of the judges of the competition
, which did not stop and crashed. he fled.
The victim was identified under the name of
Israel Oropeza Vázquez
, a native of the state of Jalisco, who when he was
just 1000 meters away from finishing the
21-kilometer route, a motorcyclist accompanied by a co-pilot collided with the athlete from behind and decided not to. curb.
The marathon runner was running alone at the time of impact, therefore, after the incident he remained lying on the ground until
receiving help from the paramedics present at the scene
.
After receiving assistance, fortunately,
Israel managed to get up on his own minutes after suffering the accident and decided to cross the finish line
of the marathon when he found himself on the final stretch.
Once the race was over,
he was taken to a hospital, where serious injuries were ruled out
.
Only minor bruises were found on him that do not call into question his integrity.
▶️ Motorcyclist runs over marathon runner on Avenida Vallarta in Guadalajara, #Jalisco;
The person responsible has not yet been identified.
📺 #TelediarioMediodía with @janupi and @YulianaEscobedo ⭐ pic.twitter.com/AG8ohnOOhA
— @telediario (@telediario) February 26, 2024
The accident was recorded by one of the spectators who was on the side of the road that marked the trail.
When the video quickly went viral,
the motorcycle driver justified himself by arguing that he was dazzled by the sun at the moment of impact
.
Therefore, he did not manage to avoid Israel in time when he managed to spot it.
Some time later it would come to light that the vehicle he was driving was part of the organizing committee and that the co-pilot would be one of the judges in charge of the competition, although at the moment the identity of both is unknown.
As a result of the impact of the case, the victim thanked the support she received on her social networks and regretted not having been able to finish the race at the good pace she had.
Those responsible for the incident are still unknown.
"
I didn't fall, a motorcyclist threw me with a high displacement vehicle.
Although I feel sad, because I had been doing a good race, I am aware that I will soon get out of this and we will have a good competition again," said Israel.
In addition, the organizers of the Guadalajara Marathon published a statement in this regard.
In it they provided an update about the state of Israel and that "corresponding measures were already being taken."
Likewise,
the causes of the incident have not yet been clarified, nor have the identities of the culprits
.