Football referee and two sisters die in head-on crash on Mendoza highway

A tragic head-on collision on Provincial Route 60 in Mendoza, Argentina, claimed the lives of two young sisters and a football referee. The accident occurred near Maipú, involving a car and a SUV.

Oscar Aníbal Fernández Mercau, 48, a local amateur football referee, was driving a Peugeot 504. He reportedly entered Provincial Route 60 from a public alley and collided head-on with a Volkswagen T-Cross. Mercau died shortly after the impact while being transported to the Hospital Central.

The two sisters, Juana Masó Tillar, 21, and Rosario Masó Tillar, 19, were passengers in the SUV. Juana, an industrial engineering student at the University of Mendoza, was initially in critical condition at the Hospital Central and passed away on Monday evening due to cardiorespiratory arrest. Her younger sister, Rosario, who was studying to enter medical school, suffered severe polytrauma and was declared brain dead at the same hospital on Monday evening.

Three other adults, relatives of the sisters, were also in the SUV. The driver, Martín Omar Tillar, 52, sustained polytrauma and remains in delicate condition at Hospital Lagomaggiore. Ariadna Tillar, 54, suffered fractures and is in intensive care at Hospital Perrupato. Florencia Bettalemmi, 42, was admitted to Hospital El Carmen with severe head trauma and loss of consciousness. The crash happened around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, with emergency services, police, and firefighters responding to the scene.