18 People Are Mowed Down and Killed By Truck After Standing in Road To Look At Other Road Death

AT least 18 roadside people who was viewing a dead car crash victim were mown down and killed by a hit-and-run truck driver in Guatemala.



Nine others are in "critical condition" after the truck smashed into pedestrians on Wednesday evening local time (Thursday morning GMT), authorities said.



The victims were apparently standing in the road investigating a fatal crash that happened moments earlier in the town of Nahuala.



Graphic footage and photos from the scene show bodies lying on the road, which is stained with blood.



Grieving friends and relatives can be heard crying and screaming in agony.



Amílcar Montejo, head of traffic police in nearby Guatemala City, said that a "large number" of locals crowded around the initial crash site.



It's then that a truck "went out of control" at "excessive speed" and hit the crowd, he told Prensa Libre.
'DID NOT NOTICE PEDESTRIANS'



Fire department spokesman Cecilio Chacaj said: "It seems that the semi-trailer did not notice the number of the people on the roadway and ran them over."



President Jimmy Morales wrote on Twitter: "At this time we are coordinating our response to bring full support to the relatives of the victims.



"My heartfelt condolences."

The crash was on the notorious Interamerican highway at Km159 - an infamous stretch of road where accidents are said to be common.