Reunion at the Morgue

Francisco boarded a passenger bus on Sunday morning in Mexico City. He was to be reunited with his brother who he hadnt seen in 20 years.

His brother Rafael's family had recently contacted him and persuaded him to visit the family's home in Guaymas, Sonora, in the north. Francisco happily agreed and told his wife of the plan. She was happy as well and agreed to accompany her husband on the trip up north.

The bus ride was uneventful. But tragedy and death awaited the couple. In the state of Sinaloa, right over the Nayarit border, a tanker truck crossed the center divide and smashed head on into the passenger bus.

Francisco and his wife had no chance. They were seated in seats 3 and 4. The two, along with 30 other passengers perished that night in a horrifying accident between the cities of Mazatlan, Sinaloa and Acaponeta, Nayarit.


At the Guaymas Bus Station, Francisco and his sons awaited his brother and uncle's visit. The bus never arrived.

Francisco inquired at the desk and he was given the grim news: The bus had suffered an accident outside Mazatlan, Sinaloa. He was devastated.

Their family reunion would be at the Mazatlan morgue. He identified his brothers corpse, among the rows of bodies from the wreck. The man he hadnt seen in 2o years. The surprise he expected, turned into horrible tragedy.

Francisco Fajardo Barajas' dream of seeing his brother Rafael was left, shattered and destroyed, along with his life, on the side of a road in Sinaloa.