The authorities in Mexico said they had begun an investigation after a person drove a car through a crowd and injured at least 17 people on Wednesday night at a celebration of a World Cup victory by the Mexican national team.
The episode took place at about 10 p.m. in a popular tourist area of Cabo San Lucas, a resort city in the state of Baja California Sur, the state attorney general’s office said.
Seventeen people were being treated for injuries at local hospitals, Alberto Rentería Santana, the secretary general of the Los Cabos City Council, said on social media. Health authorities said that one person was in critical condition.
The General Directorate of Public Security of Los Cabos said in a statement on social media that the incident occurred “during a massive gathering of citizens” in the Centro neighborhood after Mexico’s men’s national soccer team beat the Czech Republic.
The statement said that a driver, “upon finding themselves surrounded by people who were blocking the way and exerting physical pressure on their vehicle, executed a sudden acceleration maneuver, causing several pedestrians to be struck.”
The directorate said that the driver was apprehended at the scene and taken to the hospital, and then handed over to the authorities.
Several videos posted on social media and verified by The New York Times show a black sedan ramming into a large group of people outside a strip of bars near the city’s marina. People are heard screaming and blowing air horns, while others are seen shaking and hitting the vehicle as it repeatedly accelerates into the crowd.
The vehicle then speeds through the crowd, hitting several people before crashing into a row of bollards. One person in a Mexico jersey is seen lying motionless and bloodied on a nearby curb.
The Mexican Football Federation said on social media that it “deeply regrets” the incident, and called on the authorities to “clarify what happened and determine the corresponding responsibilities.”
