Seven Killed After Deadly Rally Crash in Spain (Video)

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Seven spectators are dead after a rally car plunged Saturday into a crowd of 20 people, killing at least seven and injuring at least 12 more, media outlets are reporting.

The BBC reported that six people were initially dead after the crash in the province of Galicia, which is in northwest Spain. The Daily Mail reported that a young girl who was severely injured in the crash died from her injuries Saturday night.

The La Coruna rally was immediately cancelled after the deadly crash.

According to reports, the driver — identified by Spanish media as Sergio Taveayo — and his co-driver Luis Miguel Prado Santos were unhurt in the crash.

According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, two spectators remain in critical condition and five more have serious injuries. Ten spectators with minor injuries left the hospital Sunday.

Among the dead were two pregnant women and one girl, according to El Pais.

Authorities say the men may have been driving too fast when they lost control of their car and careened into the spectators. According to reports, authorities are investigating the crash.

Purported video of the crash was posted online after the crash.

(Warning: Although the video doesn’t contain graphic images, it does depict a fatal crash.)

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

More by Aaron Cole

Comments
Join the conversation
8 of 30 comments
  • -Nate -Nate on Sep 07, 2015

    Yes , Spain is a sucky place to live unless you're seriously wealthy then it sucks a bit less . I hope they don't hassle the Drivers as stupid is as stupid does ~ I've been going to the races for many decades and always manage to find a safe enough place to watch . -Nate

    • See 1 previous
    • Roberto Esponja Roberto Esponja on Sep 08, 2015

      Spain is NOT a sucky place, why are you saying this? Yes, it's going through an economic downturn right now, but that doesn't mean that life there is miserable. And, it's a great place to vacation.

  • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Sep 07, 2015

    I wouldn't want to be those two or their insurance. On a different foot. Yes you can say pointless, dangerous. Live in a metropolis? Ever wonder how many women & kids your local transit authority has killed since it was incorporated? And how many more it will continue to kill..

    • RideHeight RideHeight on Sep 07, 2015

      "Ever wonder how many women & kids your local transit authority has killed..?" Yeah, when I lived in Chicago the CTA drivers painted little mommy and kid silhouettes on the bus right under their side window like fighter pilots did with swastikas and meatballs. o_O

  • Millmech Millmech on Sep 07, 2015

    As Michelle Mouton [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mich%C3%A8le_Mouton] has said: She once admitted that to be competitive in the rally, she tried to think of the large crowds right by the side of the route as trees.

    • Signal11 Signal11 on Sep 07, 2015

      My problem was that doesn't work all of the time. At least for me. Most of the time, you aren't thinking about the spectators at all. They don't or barely register. You're concentrating on the road, your instructions and the car. You're driving so fast that it's all a blur anyway. Then someone near or close to your path makes a particular sudden motion that registers to your brain as human motion. I don't know why it happens in any given particular situation. Maybe it's the angle and just the right spot between your peripheral and central vision, maybe it's the color someone is wearing, I don't know. But in an instant, your other instincts, your street driving instincts that tell you to slow the hell down want to kick in. Your foot lifts a tiny bit off the pedal and in many situations, that's a call for disaster. At best, you've unsettled the car and have to fight to bet it back into line a little more. It's insane. And of course, Michele Mouton drove at a time when the spectators were even nuttier. And at a higher level, with more spectators. Maybe she got it to work and the psychology of the best drivers are such that their focus either precludes this instinct or their confidence is such that it's not an issue. For me, the proximity of spectators on rally stages is completely assinine. Not to mention that I never really got motorsports as a spectator sport in the first place.

  • -Nate -Nate on Sep 08, 2015

    FWIW ; the U.S. of A. also has these mishaps constantly ~ my Son races AMA District 37 and I've seen some horrendous collisions between the racers and Spectators who insist in being too close to the action , they deliberately choose the corners etc. where they know in advance that get offs and rollovers etc. are likely and then get all pissy when some one gets hurt or a Child has to witness compound broken bones (means bones sticking out of bloody torn skin) and then has nightmares for months.... Spain does suck unless you're wildly rich ~ it has been so for well over 50 years , I have friends from Spain , rich friends , well educated who are sad they had to leave their country to be able to make a decent living . Mexico , the Dominican Republic , Barbados on an on are all wonderful places to vacation , not so much for the regular folks who have to live their miserable lives there , get real . -Nate

Next