Paramount Family’s Trip to Mexico Ends in Tragedy

A planned reunion with relatives and friends in Mexico ended in tragedy for a Paramount family after their van crashed, killing four people and injuring five others.

Jose Guerrero, his wife, Elvira, their 2-year-old son, Jesus, and a friend of the couple, Guadalupe Delgado, died Tuesday after their van went out of control on a highway 12 miles north of Guaymas, a city in Sonora, Mexico.

Four of the Guerreros’ children survived: Isabel, 17, Eduardo, 17, Raul, 14, and Jose Jr. 13. Jose Guerrero’s uncle, Liandro Pantoja of San Rafael, also survived.

“Everyone flew out of the van in the accident,” said Gregorio Sanchez Marquez, a Guaymas doctor who is treating the survivors. “It is very sad that so many people died.”

The extent of the survivors’ injuries was unknown, Marquez said. But he said Isabel was most severely hurt with multiple fractures and possible spinal cord injuries.

Local relatives and friends said they were told that Delgado had fallen asleep at the wheel moments before the crash.

The Guerreros, who came to the United States from Mexico 15 years ago, started their trip on Monday and planned to visit family and friends for two weeks.

Jose Guerrero, who was unemployed when he died, and his wife, who sold cosmetics, also had planned to attend a family wedding.

Relatives and friends, meanwhile, are struggling to pay for medical bills and funeral costs, which have already amounted to $15,000, said Juana Garcia, Guerrero’s niece.