An Ontario man is dead and his wife is injured after an apparent hit-and-run accident, just two weeks after they arrived in Mexico for their vacation, CTV News has learned.
Clifford Glasier and his wife Janette Lerch, of Chatham, Ont. had been renting a house in the country for four months until the end of April.
The snowbirds were struck in an apparent hit-and-run while crossing a main street near Lake Chapala while walking home after dinner Wednesday night.
Clifford, 67, was pronounced dead on the scene, while his wife, 54, is fighting for her life in hospital.
The driver involved reportedly fled the scene, leaving the victims on the road.
Members of the family have travelled to Mexico to be with the injured woman, who is believed to have suffered two broken legs, a broken back, and critical head injuries.
Officials say it could be next week before Clifford Glasier's body is flown back to Canada.
Family members told CTV's Jim Junkin they hope Canadians will think very seriously before considering a vacation to Mexico.
"Consular officials in Guadalajara were informed by Mexican police on Jan. 18 of the accident that occurred the earlier night," Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alain Cacchione told CTV.ca in a telephone interview from Ottawa on Friday afternoon.
He said that consular officials have visited Lerch in the hospital.
"Consular officials in Ottawa were immediately in touch with both families of the deceased and injured Canadians to offer consular assistance," he said.
However, Cacchione would not elaborate on the type of accident.
"It is an ongoing investigation and I cannot speculate on what type of accident it was," Cacchione said.
"Consular officials went to Chapala early Friday to meet with authorities to emphasize the need for a quick and thorough investigation," he said.
In recent years, many North American retirees spend the winter on Lake Chapala's shore, located approximately 50 km southeast of Guadalajara.
The death comes less than two weeks after a 19-year-old Canadian man was killed outside a nightclub in Acapulco, Mexico.
Mexican officials insist Adam DePrisco was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and a preliminary autopsy by Ontario's top coroner showed the injuries were consistent with being knocked down by a vehicle.
But DePrisco's friends and family have disputed that claim, saying he died of injuries sustained in a vicious beating.
This latest death also comes about 11 months after a Woodbridge, Ont. couple, Dominic and Nancy Ianiero, were found slain at a resort near Cancun.
Mexican authorities have been accused of bungling the murder investigation.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin
