A 21-YEAR-OLD   man attempting to cross the road near the church of San Antonio, in La Morelos, Tocumen at 6:30 in the morning of Thursday, April 12,  became Panama’s 100^th traffic fatality in 2018.

he was hit by a car heading towards Panama City and died instantly. Police say the driver was “distracted” which is often a euphemism for using a cell phone. He was detained for questioning.

The number of deaths so far this year is 38 behind the total for the same period in 2017. The final highway death total for last year was 440.