The illegal gatherings of car and speed enthusiasts in the Júndiz industrial park, in Vitoria, have more than two decades of history, although there has never been an event as tragic as what occurred this weekend. Two people died during the early hours of Friday to Saturday, and a third is in critical condition, after two vehicles collided in this area.
The deceased are Cristian, 21, and his partner, Izaro, 19, who were traveling in the back seat of one of the vehicles involved in the accident, a Volkswagen Polo. The driver of the car, Assadd, 20, is in critical condition, while his partner, who was traveling as co-pilot, is not in danger. The driver of the other vehicle, a high-end BMW, has suffered non-serious injuries.
The events occurred after 1:30 a.m. when, for reasons that are being investigated, a front-to-side collision occurred between the two cars. Although initially the hypothesis was that a crash occurred during an illegal race, the hypothesis that the driver of the BMW made a reckless maneuver at a very high speed and collided frontolaterally with the Polo is gaining strength.
Sources from the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council indicate that they are aware that a gathering attended by about 50 vehicles had been detected. The city's Local Police went there with the aim of dissuading the participants, something they achieved, and the device concluded around 1:30 a.m. It was then, in just a few minutes, when the tragic accident occurred.
The Councilor for Security of the Vitoria City Council, Iñaki Gurtubai, has pointed out that the meeting of “young people in search of adrenaline” had not translated into an “illegal race, as such”, although the participants could have put into practice “activities of serious risk” with “accelerations and spins”, which in this case ended in a “terrible tragedy”.
In this sense, Gurtubai has indicated that the high-end vehicle was traveling at an “extreme speed” and after an “absolutely irresponsible” maneuver, it collided with the other car and caused the death of the young people. For this reason, he added that it would be “strange” if these two cars, because they have very different characteristics and one with one occupant and the other with four, could be participating in an illegal race.
Illegal car crashes at the Júndiz industrial park have been occurring for more than two decades and, in fact, years ago there were illegal races attended by many people as members of the public. The police presence ensured that these busy races practically disappeared and were replaced by meet-ups in which “arreones y trompos” took place.
