Four Die in Bus and Truck Collision on Manizales-Medellín Highway

A highway collision along a major Colombian corridor turned fatal on Saturday afternoon, claiming four lives and sending nearly two dozen people to area hospitals. The crash occurred near the Supía toll in the Antioquia department sector of Orofino, on the route connecting Manizales and Medellín.

Collision Details and Initial Casualties on the Manizales-Medellín Highway

The incident involved a public service bus belonging to Expreso Bolivariano, bearing the license plate EYY119, and a tractocamión hauling sacks of coffee. According to El Colombiano, the bus was operating the route between Medellín and Ipiales, while the truck traveled in the opposite direction from Supía toward Cartagena. Preliminary findings from transit authorities indicate that the bus may have crossed into the oncoming lane while attempting to overtake another vehicle.

The impact caused the passenger bus to overturn. Three individuals died at the scene: the bus driver, Cristian Camilo Palacios Gonzales of Bogotá, and two passengers, Jorge Eliécer Soto Correa and Nubia Alba Deavila de Soto. Relatives identified the pair as a couple from Caldas, Antioquia, who were traveling to Buga to visit the Señor de Los Milagros. Eighteen others sustained injuries, prompting a swift response from the Antioquia Highway Police, the La Pintada fire department, and emergency personnel from the Concesión Pacífico 2.

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Emergency Response and the Toll on Families

Rescuers mobilized quickly following the impact. Due to the high volume of victims and the remote stretch of the highway, bystanders also stepped in.

Hours after the initial rescue efforts, the death toll climbed. A young female passenger, 16-year-old María Lourdes Medina Fonseca from Venezuela, passed away at a hospital in Manizales. She had been traveling from Marinilla alongside her family, who emerged uninjured from the wreck. Among the injured admitted to medical centers in La Pintada, Marmato, and Supía were Ana María Correa, Johan Steven Restrepo López, Óscar Darío de Jesús Correa Fernández, and Luz Marina Bolívar Herrera, alongside the truck driver, Numar Ardila Morales, who suffered head trauma.

Vehicle Record Scrutiny and Official Reactions

As investigators preserved the crash site, transportation databases revealed prior infractions associated with the Bolivariano vehicle. Reporting from La Patria noted that the bus had accumulated four administrative orders for potential speeding across different jurisdictions, totaling $2 millones 500 mil pesos in outstanding notices.

Regional leaders extended their condolences as recovery and clearing operations continued into Saturday evening. Antioquia Governor Andrés Julián Rendón shared a public statement regarding the disaster.

Andrés Julián Rendón, Governor of Antioquia, prayed that God would grant peace to the families of the victims and allow for the prompt recovery of the injured, adding that the roadway remained closed while care operations proceeded.

The corridor remained restricted while authorities conducted forensic investigations and removed the wreckage, leaving traffic backed up as officials managed mobility through the corridor connecting the Eje Cafetero.