Overview
- The driver Jesús López, 48 and known as 'Pijo,' died after his Forwin RS23 left the road, struck roadside objects and caught fire during the Subida a Taboadela hillclimb on Sunday.
- Event medics, 061 emergency teams, fire crews and GES units attended the scene and transported two injured people to the Hospital of Ourense, while the Federación Gallega de Automobilismo cancelled the competition.
- Multiple eyewitnesses said the car ignited almost immediately after impact and that attempts to assist the driver were unsuccessful, with local reports noting a strike near the fuel-tank area and possible wet road conditions as an initial factor.
- Separately, a string of unrelated fatal road crashes in Galicia and Argentina this weekend left several more dead and injured, including a four-member family in Córdoba where prosecutors say a pickup may have crossed into the opposite lane and its driver was later imputado.
- Authorities have launched technical forensics and judicial inquiries to reconstruct the rally crash and other collisions, and the investigations could prompt reviews of hillclimb safety protocols and race-site emergency procedures.