THREE  ROAD deaths within hours of the close  of the Panama Canal expansion celebration have brought the total fatalities for the year to date to 226, setting the country on track for a record breaking year of grim highway statistics.
The three victims died  in a  four hour period on the morning of Monday, June 27.
First was Balbino Smith, 25, killed by a hit and run driver near 4.00 am in the community of Miraflores, Changuinola in the province of Bocas del Toro.
In the community of La Pita Capira, 22-year-old Axel Albin Santana was killed  at  6.00 am  According to police reports, the car rolled over  several times and Albin was  thrown out an trapped in a heavy  wire-mesh fence.
Juan Bautista Cruz, 40 died at around 8:00 am at  Rio Chico in Pacora  when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a ravine while  heading towards Panama  city.