A truck, two buses from the RED system (Santiago's public bus network) and four cars collided on the afternoon of Thursday, October 22, on the Autopista Central in Renca, a comuna (municipality) of Santiago. The crash happened near Domingo Santa María, in the southbound direction, and forced the full closure of that carriageway.
According to La Tercera, the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santiago (CBS), Santiago's fire department, reported a preliminary toll of nine people injured with varying degrees of severity. Carabineros later gave a lower figure: six injured, none seriously.
Major Darby Beltrán Hermosilla, commander of the 57th Motorized Precinct of the Traffic and Highways Prefecture, said the accident occurred at kilometer 4.3 of the road. Speaking to BioBioChile, he said two RED buses, a dump truck and four light vehicles were involved. He stated that the injured are out of mortal danger and that most suffered minor injuries.
One of the buses was carrying passengers, while the other had only the driver on board. The officer said the passengers were evacuated and taken away on another RED bus.
The emergency mobilized more than 30 firefighters from three companies, ambulances from the Servicio de Atención Médica de Urgencia (SAMU), Chile's emergency medical service, Carabineros and highway staff. Lubricant and fuel spilled onto the roadway, so the fire department dispatched a specialized unit to control the hazard.
The traffic timeline was provided by Transporte Informa's @TTISantiago account on X. At 19:09 it reported restrictions on the right and center lanes of southbound Ruta 5. At 19:32 it posted the total closure of the road in that section, with traffic diverted to the exit for avenida Domingo Santa María, and reported heavy congestion.
The sources do not give details of other alternative routes beyond that mandatory detour.
As for the causes, Major Beltrán said they will be investigated. No drivers have been arrested given the nature of the injuries, and Carabineros will report to the relevant Juzgado de Policía Local (local traffic and misdemeanor court). The officer ruled out the involvement of the Sección de Investigación de Accidentes en el Tránsito (SIAT), the police traffic accident investigation unit. He added that police personnel were working to remove the vehicles and reopen the highway.
