I pitty this poor bastard

One misconception about racing in Mexico is that as long as you are with the organization that sponsors the race and assuming you have paid all the required insurance fees that you are protected and have full coverage. WRONG! If you (especially Gringos) get into an accident and damage anything while in Mexico or Heaven forbid you hurt someone, your ass if grass and the Mexican citizens are the lawnmower. It;s important to remember you are no longer in the United States and it's not as simple as calling your insurance agent and lawyer. Down there they will throw your ass in jail and deal with you when their damn good and ready. Oh yeah, should you break this cardinal rule, be sure you have lots of cash.

Keep this in mind because when you race in Mexico it does NOT give you the right to drive crazy or be disrespectful of those who live and work there. Just imagine this race being held in your hometown. Respect them the same as you would want to be respected.

Today in Mexico an American fell asleep at the wheel and plowed thru a large group of bicyclist in a race. In this case he was extremely fortunate that a policeman came along quickly which is rare since some of the angry men in the crowd were about to lynch him. Here is the entire report from FOXNEWS.COM.

1 Killed After Alleged Drunk Driver Plows Into Bike Race
Tuesday, June 03, 2008

A car collides into cyclists participating in a race in Mexico's northern border city of Matamoros.

A car driven by an alleged drunken driver plowed into a bicycle race along a highway near the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday, killing one cyclist and injuring 10 others.

Juan Campos was apparently drunk and had fallen asleep at the wheel before crashing into the race in Monterrey, Mexico, police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez said.

A photograph taken by a city official shows the horrifying moment of impact. The force of the collision sent bicyclists and equipment high into the air and Matamoros newspaper El Mañana described children crying, women shouting for help and men trying to lynch Campos before police arrived to arrest him.

Killed in the crash was Alejandro Alvarez, 37, of Monterrey.

Campos told police he was an American citizen from Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. consulate could not immediately confirm that.

"We are looking into the incident in terms of whether American citizens were involved,'' consulate spokesman Todd Huizinga told the Associated Press.

The crash happened 15 minutes into the race along a highway between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros, authorities said.

A total of 452 cyclists were participating in the 21-mile race, which was canceled after the incident.