A monster truck plowed into a crowd of spectators during a stunt at an outdoor motor sport event in Colombia on Sunday, killing three people and injuring 40 others, the local authorities said.
Video footage verified by the Reuters news agency shows crowds of people in Popayán, the capital of Cauca, a department in southwestern Colombia, watching as the driver performed tricks, then appeared to lose control of the vehicle and hit spectators standing behind a barrier.
Juan Carlos Muñoz, the mayor of Popayán, said in a statement that some of those injured were being treated at a hospital in the city and that local authorities would investigate.
“Today is a deeply painful day for our city,” Mr. Muñoz said.
El Tiempo, a Colombian newspaper, reported that police were looking at mechanical failure as a possible cause. “The vehicle accelerated and the brakes didn’t work,” Julián Castañeda, a local police commander, told the newspaper.
Social media posts advertising the event, Popayán Monster Truck 2026, said it would also include freestyle BMX and motocross stunts. The event’s promoters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Octavio Guzmán, Cauca’s governor, said in a statement that local health authorities had deployed firefighters and ambulances to coordinate the emergency response.
