A 23-year-old drunk driver slammed his black Nissan into vendor stalls at a street market in Tijuana early Sunday morning, killing a 58-year-old woman and injuring six others. The crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. on Boulevard Las Torres in the El Pípila neighborhood, a working-class area in eastern Tijuana.
The suspect, identified as Carlos Daniel, had just left the Casa Blanca bar when he struck multiple stalls at high speed, according to local reports. Rather than stopping after the initial impact, he continued accelerating through the market area. He then physically attacked bystanders before municipal police subdued and arrested him at the scene.
Victim Was Family’s Sole Provider
The woman killed was Lucina Cárdenas López, 58, a flea market vendor. Her daughter Nayeli, who suffered a broken hand and broken leg in the crash, told reporters her mother was the family’s sole breadwinner. Cárdenas López supported two disabled siblings on her market earnings.
The family has filed a formal complaint with the FGE (Fiscalía General del Estado, Baja California’s state prosecutor’s office). They are demanding that Carlos Daniel be held in custody pending homicide charges rather than released on bail or other conditions.
Injured Vendors Face Medical Bills Without Insurance
Among the six people injured, one victim suffered a punctured lung. Another is undergoing knee surgery. All of the injured are street vendors who lack IMSS (Mexican Social Security) coverage because they work in the informal economy. They now face significant hospital bills with limited legal resources to pursue compensation.
Street markets, known locally as “sobreruedas,” operate in neighborhoods across Tijuana in the early morning hours. Vendors set up temporary stalls along boulevards to sell food, clothing, and household goods. The markets serve as a primary source of income for thousands of families who work outside formal employment.
Drunk driving remains a persistent problem in Tijuana. The city’s late-night bar culture and limited enforcement of alcohol-related traffic laws put pedestrians, vendors, and other road users at risk during early morning hours when markets are being set up.
Municipal police confirmed the arrest at the scene. The case is now with the FGE, which will determine formal charges. This story was first reported by Punto Norte.