Mendoza Football Referee Dies in Head-On Collision

A head-on collision on provincial Route 60 in Maipú, Mendoza, claimed the life of 48-year-old football referee Oscar Fernández Mercau on Sunday. Mercau, a well-respected figure in the province's amateur football scene with a long career, was traveling in a Peugeot 504 when his vehicle collided with a Volkswagen T-Cross. The accident occurred as Mercau entered the route from a public alley.

Paramedics rushed Mercau to the Central Hospital of Maipú, but he succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival. The collision also left five occupants of the Volkswagen T-Cross injured. Reports indicate severe multiple traumas for some passengers, with one man suffering a head injury and a woman sustaining fractures to her tibia, fibula, and lower jaw. A sanitary helicopter was used to transport the seriously injured to the hospital.

Emergency services, including provincial police, municipal traffic officials, and volunteer firefighters, responded to the scene. Route access was restricted to facilitate the ongoing investigation. The death of Mercau has sent shockwaves through the local football community. This tragic event echoes a similar incident in February in Santa Cruz, where another Argentine Football Association (AFA) referee, Emanuel Leguizamón, died in a traffic accident while returning from a regional final. Leguizamón was traveling with other referees, who were hospitalized after the collision.