4 Traffic Deaths and 900+ Caught up in Carnival Policing Operations

Four lives were lost on the roads during the 2025 Carnival festivities, despite the security operations deployed throughout the country.  Speeding and recklessness claimed victims again, leaving mourning in the midst of the Carnival celebration.  “Operation Carnival 2025” was carried out from February 28 to March 3, resulting in the arrest of 933 people, after more than 343 thousand citizen verifications.   In the breakdown of the arrests: 286 were arrested for administrative offenses, 388 had driving issues, 277 had arrest warrants and 30 were caught red-handed.  More than 144,669 vehicles moved throughout the country, causing chaos on the roads. The Police imposed 5,712 traffic violations, with 1,374 for speeding and 155 for proven drunkenness.

What was supposed to be a celebration of joy and fun during the Carnival of Santa Cruz turned into tragedy on Sunday night, when a fatal accident occurred on the Las Tablas-Pedasí highway.   The victim, María Victoria Sarasty, a 26-year-old woman, lost her life in a terrible traffic accident, near the Santo Domingo sector, close to the slaughterhouse.  The vehicle in which the victim was travelling with two companions collided violently with a fixed object.  Although the other occupants of the car survived and were rushed to a medical center, the young woman was not so lucky and died at the scene of the impact. This unfortunate event makes the young woman the first fatal victim of a traffic accident during these carnivals in the province of Los Santos.