An electric passenger tricycle was involved in an accident on Rotaria Avenue in the municipality of Regla, Havana, leaving several people injured, including a young woman who required stitches on her face and was rushed to the local polyclinic, according to a video shared on Facebook by neighbor Osniel Pulido.
The vehicle, a means of transportation that has replaced the collapsed bus system in many Cuban municipalities, got stuck in the mud and puddles that accumulate on that stretch of the avenue, considered one of the main entrances to the municipality.
Pulido explained that at the moment of the accident, he had his phone active and was able to record for just a few seconds before stopping to help the victims.
"I had to take out a towel that I have for my sweat to dry off a girl of about four years who was soaked with that water, as well as a young woman and an elderly woman," he wrote.
The scene was particularly heartbreaking: "The girl was crying uncontrollably because her mother had been rushed to the clinic after cutting her face."
The young woman, as the author of the video was later informed, had to receive stitches. The most poignant detail: "Tomorrow is her birthday, I'm so sorry," wrote Pulido.
The author of the post reports that this situation "happens daily on this avenue" and that the owners of a small business located across from the deterioration have already dumped fill dirt on three occasions on their own initiative, something that he emphasizes "is not their responsibility."
The accident occurs just one day after a truck collided with a tricycle on Vía Blanca, also in Regla, because the traffic light had been off for hours due to a blackout, and the municipal polyclinic also had no electricity at that time.
The outrage in the comments of the post was immediate. "The saddest thing is that this is one of the main entrances to the municipality of Regla, and hundreds of officials pass through there every day, yet nothing happens," wrote one user. Another was more direct: "Do you know when they will do something to solve this problem? The day an accident occurs and someone dies. Cuba has returned to medieval times."
Several neighbors pointed to the impunity of those in power. "The children of those responsible for so many problems don’t travel in that kind of transport or frequent those streets daily," one noted. Another added, "The leaders don’t care; they drive around in their cars. The citizens should unite and take to the streets to protest and demand that the PCC and the Popular Power fix that street."
The accumulated frustration is summed up in another comment: "That has been in those conditions for a while now, just a few meters from the clinic, on one of the main streets of Regla where millions of vehicles pass by, and no one sees anything, no one cares about anything at all, we are like dogs."
The deterioration of roadways in Cuba is systemic.
The Minister of Transport admitted in January 2025 the "accumulated deterioration" of the streets and acknowledged that this issue "takes a toll" in the form of more accidents.
Official data indicates that between 38% and 71% of Cuba's road network is in fair to poor condition, and in January 2025 alone, there were 19 fatalities and 173 injuries recorded in traffic accidents across the country.
"Actually, no one cares about anything. I’m referring to those in charge, the ones who are paid for it. They are in their positions just to provide explanations and justifications, never solutions," concluded another internet user, summarizing what thousands of Cubans feel every time they step outside.
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