Road side deaths from Sosua to Cabarete

very sad to see this.

I find that rather difficult to beleive- when ive seen an accident people usually appear from no-where to help and all traffic comes to a standstill while people get out of their cars etc- in fact there are usually too many trying to help - is this really true- perhaps you were the first to see the dead bodies

Accidents

John Evans said:

I find that rather difficult to beleive- when ive seen an accident people usually appear from no-where to help and all traffic comes to a standstill while people get out of their cars etc- in fact there are usually too many trying to help - is this really true- perhaps you were the first to see the dead bodies

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I have been told that people are hesitant to get involved at the scene of accidents because of possibly being implicated by the police.

A few years ago, a Dominican friend was involved in a very serious accident on the main road from Sosua to Puerto Plata at the turnoff for Munoz/Bergantin where his motorbike was hit by a truck (truck drivers fault). He lay in the road for 45 minutes with a broken leg and arm and losing a lot of blood. The truck driver drove off.

Eventually he was taken to hospital in the back of a pick up truck, and is lucky to have survived.

Rio

I have been told by Dominicans here that there used to be a law that said that civilians were not to get involved in accidents under penalty of law. However, I don't believe this is the case anymore.

To the OP, of course there are tow trucks and ambulances too. Knowing Dominicans, if you saw dead people on the side of the road, it had just happened. They may have been hit crossing the road or might been one of the numerous examples of drunks riding a motorcycle. The hospital er rooms are filled up on the weekends by such types. In fact I was almost side swiped by a 50 something year old drunk on his motorbike. By the look on his face I don't even know how he could keep the bike upright.

Chip said:

They may have been hit crossing the road or might been one of the numerous examples of drunks riding a motorcycle. The hospital er rooms are filled up on the weekends by such types. In fact I was almost side swiped by a 50 something year old drunk on his motorbike. By the look on his face I don't even know how he could keep the bike upright.

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The drunks drive cars, jeepetas and trucks too!

Rio

Sometimes the corpses lie there until a medical examiner (?) can get to the scene. There was an accident near our house a couple of months ago and the traffic was backed up for several hours because the body could not be moved until the doctor arrived.

John Evans said:

I find that rather difficult to beleive- when ive seen an accident people usually appear from no-where to help and all traffic comes to a standstill while people get out of their cars etc- in fact there are usually too many trying to help - is this really true- perhaps you were the first to see the dead bodies

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I find the situation the OP related as strange too. Every single time we have come upon an accident, you can hardly get by on the road as there are always so many people who have pulled over to either help or look. I've even witnessed a man trapped in his car, bleeding profusely (his wife was ejected and was dead instantly), while a bunch of guys tried their best with whatever they could find, to tear away the metal and free the guy so as to get him to a hospital. The emergency vehicle finally arrived but it was too late; I watched the guy take his last breath as he was looking around at everybody (it was awful and I'll never forget it).

When my husband was involved in a very serious accident on the road between Puerto Plata and Sosua, he went off the road (trying to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of him who had suddenly stopped in the pouring rain), down an embankment and slammed into a tree, totaling our vehicle. Any and everybody who saw him go down that embankment was there instantly to get him out of the truck and they took him to a clinic in Sosua. I don't know what the law is here about moving an injured person, but I'm happy the people who assisted my husband were there and didn't hesitate. It's quite possible he may not have made it if they hadn't. I know it's always a risk to move someone without knowing if they have a spinal injury or not, but I guess when you're in a country where it could take forever, if ever, for a rescue/emergency vehicle to get there, you have to just take your chances.

(Thank God for airbags too!)

We were told that if you try to help you have taken some “ownership” of the victim.
My partner is a trainee paramedic and wanted to help the first time we saw an accident – she was told that if she were to try and help and the victim died the family of the victim could pass some blame onto my girlfriend to try and get some gringa money from her.
I don’t know if there is any truth to that – perhaps some of the long timers could shed some light?

On that stretch of road in the limited time we have spent in the country we have seen 3 accidents – im sure they are frequent along there. 2 involved animals without head lights on!

wishingiwasthere said:

We were told that if you try to help you have taken some ?ownership? of the victim.

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That was my understanding as well, or that the "good samaritan" could be unwittingly getting himself involved with the police.
It seems that it is one of those situations where the law may have changed but the way the police look at it is open to different interpretations on occasion?


Rio