A coffin rides the bus

Argentine family takes public transport to cemetery.

Published April 18, 2000 4:00PM (EDT)

An Argentine bus driver must have received quite a shock when he pulled up at a bus stop to find a family waiting there -- with a coffin.

According to a Reuters report, the incident occurred in the Las Flores neighborhood of Santa Fe, located 200 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. Las Flores has a forbidding reputation as a dangerous neighborhood -- and that's exactly why a coffin ended up on a city bus.

The coffin, which carried the deceased relative of a family who lives in Las Flores, was to be brought to its final resting place in a local cemetery. But the funeral company that the family hired barred its hearse driver from venturing into the rough-and-tumble neighborhood. That left the family holding the coffin, and they were so furious that they hauled it to a bus stop. When the unsuspecting driver stopped, the relatives pulled the coffin on board, despite the driver's protests.

The bus became a temporary hearse, and the coffin made it to its plot in the Las Flores cemetery. No charges were filed against the family.

But we wonder: Was the coffin charged full fare?


By J.A. Getzlaff

J.A. Getzlaff's Daily Planet appears every weekday. Do you have a tip or tale for J.A.? Send it to DailyPlanet@salon.com.

MORE FROM J.A. Getzlaff


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Latin America