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Couple Arrested for Stealing Cell Phone from Injured Victim of Mar del Plata Bus Crash
🇦🇷 Argentina /Crime & Justice

Couple Arrested for Stealing Cell Phone from Injured Victim of Mar del Plata Bus Crash

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • A couple was arrested in Mar del Plata for stealing a cell phone from an accident victim.
  • The victim, Julián Gómez, was injured when a bus lost control and struck several people.
  • The pair allegedly offered to call the victim's family but instead stole his phone, jacket, and shoes.

A shocking act of opportunism unfolded in Mar del Plata when a couple was arrested for stealing a cell phone from an injured teenager minutes after a tragic bus accident. The incident occurred on Wednesday, when a bus veered off course and plowed into a crowd on the Rambla.

The recovered device is that of the teenager who was the victim of a calamitous theft when, taking advantage of the consequences of the traffic accident, they stole his personal belongings.

— Policía BonaerenseDescribing the nature of the theft.

Julián Gómez, 15, was among those injured in the crash. In the midst of the chaos and his own distress, a man and a woman approached him. They offered to use his phone to contact his family about the accident. Trusting their apparent helpfulness, Gómez provided his phone and unlock code.

However, the couple's intentions were far from benevolent. After pretending to make a call, they removed the SIM card, turned off the device, and kept it. They also allegedly stole Gómez's jacket and shoes before fleeing the scene. The pair, a 23-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, were later apprehended by the Buenos Aires Provincial Police as they attempted to sell the stolen phone.

They called my cousin saying Julián had had an accident and after that they turned off the phone and took out the chip. They should be ashamed to take advantage of a situation like this.

— AgosJulián's cousin, expressing anger and disbelief at the thieves' actions.

The bus accident itself resulted in six injuries and the death of 18-year-old Guadalupe Merlos, who was Gómez's girlfriend. The police described the theft as a "calamitous theft," exploiting the aftermath of the traffic incident. The prosecutor has charged the couple with aggravated concealment, and an investigation is underway to identify a third accomplice. Gómez's cousin expressed outrage on social media, condemning the thieves' actions as heartless, especially given Julián's critical condition at the time.

Basically, they left him naked and didn't care that Julián was convulsing next to his girlfriend Guadalupe, who had died at that moment.

— Julián's family membersDescribing the callousness of the thieves in relation to the victim's state and his girlfriend's death.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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