Eight-year-old Bastián Jerez remains in critical condition at a Mar del Plata hospital after a head-on collision in La Frontera, Pinamar, between a UTV and an Amarok truck. He has undergone six surgeries in total, with the latest addressing complications in his liver and intracranial pressure. His father, Maximiliano Jerez, faces charges for allowing the child to travel without a seatbelt, though his lawyer defends his innocence.
The accident took place in La Frontera, a dune area in Pinamar, when the UTV carrying 8-year-old Bastián Jerez collided head-on with a Volkswagen Amarok truck. The vehicle had space for four passengers but carried five, with the child on his father Maximiliano Jerez's lap without a seatbelt. This led prosecutors to charge Jerez for his role in the boy's severe injuries.
Bastián underwent two initial surgeries in Pinamar to address liver damage and internal bleeding. Transferred to Mar del Plata's Hospital Provincial Materno Infantil “Victorio Tetamanti,” he has faced four more procedures: one to install an intracranial pressure valve, another to change a liver packing, a fifth to remove the valve, and a sixth to replace it, as reported by C5N journalist Leonardo García. Though the latest surgery was successful, the boy has complications and remains in intensive care, clinically stable but on mechanical respiratory support. Lawyer Matías Morla, representing Jerez, challenged the charges: “It's a disgrace that he's indicted,” arguing the seatbelt absence wouldn't have changed the outcome given the violent impact involving a ramp and high speed. Morla highlighted the Amarok driver's responsibility, as such trucks require more force on sand, and expressed fear of neurological aftereffects from oxygen deprivation.
Toxicological expert analyses are scheduled for January 22 and accidentological for the 26, which will affect the legal proceedings. The Buenos Aires Health Ministry reported partial progress, with deeper sedatives and the pressure sensor removed, but his condition remains critical.
In response to the incident, Pinamar's municipality tightened penalties via decree 0104/2026: fines up to 15 million pesos, vehicle seizures, and liability for medical costs and environmental damage in unauthorized areas like La Frontera. A related case involved Marcos Palacios, preventively disqualified by the Transport Ministry for filming on his phone while driving an Amarok, endangering his wife and child on quadricycles without safety measures, violating Provincial Traffic Law No. 13.927. Minister Martín Marinucci called it “an act of extreme recklessness.”
