One Lucky Guy: Tragedy In Tequila

Tuesday, May 26, 2009
One Lucky Guy: Tragedy in Tequila.
A lonely young man, in his mid twenties milled about the Central Camionera bus terminal of the city of Guadalajara. He had a small backpack and walked around the seating area of the bus station waiting for his bus. Several passengers sat and waited, chatting among themselves, children running around trying to keep themselves busy, awaiting their departure. A voice came over the old station's PA system:

"Attention passengers on bus number 507 Autobuses de Occidente, bound for Puerto Vallarta, please begin boarding at Gate 7. Thank You".

It was nearly 10 P.M on the night of March 6th, 1984.The young man joined the rest of the people waiting for bus 507. They headed to Gate 7 and were met by a chubby man with a thick mustache who greeted them and helped them load their luggage into the Autobuses de Occidente bus.

The passengers eagerly awaited the sunny sandy beaches of Puerto Vallarta. The young man thought about what he would do upon arriving in Vallarta. He wanted a drink. Maybe explore some bars or nightclubs. He wanted to meet new people. He felt lonely. His parents had died the previous year, he was struggling in school and recently had lost his job. He was down on his luck but he needed a little time off to think and relax a bit before figuring out how to put his life back on track.

Puerto Vallarta seemed ideal, only a 5 hour bus ride away from Guadalajara.

He found his seat on the bus, next to the window. He tucked his backpack under his seat and sat. Put his jacket on the window to use as a pillow. A friendly older woman sat beside him. She smiled at him politely. He started to doze off as he felt the old Mexican-made DINA bus start to pull out of the station and drive off into the Guadalajara beltway.

A few minutes later he felt a tap on his arm. It was the lady next to him who had smiled at him. "Excuse me young man, but do you mind switching seats with me? I tend to get nauseous on long bus rides and the open window would do me some good". "Of course, no problem" he said to her and they switched seats. He tried to sleep in his aisle seat but it was uncomfortable now. "Oh well he thought, as long as the lady doesn't throw up on me" he thought. He dozed off once again.

About 45 minutes into their trip, tragedy awaited. The driver of a big Kenworth tanker truck was already dozing off, driving his truck down a narrow winding road near Tequila, Jalisco.

Autobuses de Occidente No 507 had just passed the town of Magdalena, outside of Tequila and was heading to a blind curve. The driver of the tanker truck coming in the opposite direction was already falling asleep and his truck was crossing onto the oncoming lane. Right at the blind curve, the tanker truck struck the passenger bus head on at nearly 85 miles an hour. The truck's tanker sliced right through the right side of the bus nearly through the bus's entire length smashing seats and people. The crash was brutal.

The man responsible for the tragedy, the trucks driver had somehow survived the horrendous crash. He cowardly jumped out of his smashed cab and ran into the fields and fled the scene.

The young man had awoken from his sleep by the terrible impact. He screamed and int he darkness tried to look around. There was no more window it was ripped away and he looked over to see if the woman next to him was ok. He was horrified to see she no longer had a head.

Stunned and dazed he managed to stumble out of his seat which was toward the back of the bus. There were no screams. No cries. Only bodies. In shock by the scene he went back and sat down. Stunned.

A passing motorist drove into the gruesome scene. Dust covered bodies and body parts littered the road, mixed among suitcases, bags, and pieces of the bus' wall. The motorist summoned the Red Cross in Magdalena and several Ambulances from Tequila and Ameca rushed to the scene along with a firetruck and a police car.

The paramedics were met by silence however. No screams of pain, no cries no yelling. Only one man, the young man down on his luck, emerged from the wreckage. One of the paramedics told him "Young man, everyone here is dead, everyone. You're the only one alive. Thank God for that, You're born again, man"

.29 people died that night on the Magdalena-Tequila road. Only one man had survived one of Jalisco states worst highway accidents. He was sent to a hospital in Guadalajara where he stayed the night in observation but he was okay, he had survived the crash unharmed. Scared and traumatized by the bloody carnage but he was alive.

Marcos Manuel Cisneros was born again that night. To this day, 25 years after the crash he cant help but wonder why he was spared. Out of 30 people on the bus he was the only one left alive. Every year, he faithfully returns to the curve outside the town of Tequila which was the scene of so much blood. He places flowers at a lonely cross that was put there in memory of the dead.

That night of March 6th, 1984 he was down on his luck and everything was going wrong. But that night he was given another opportunity and another chance at the greatest gift of all:

Life.