Fatal fall on the festival's final night
Gabriela Rodríguez Tezoco fell from the attraction identified by local outlet Expreso as El Péndulo (The Pendulum). The ride was operating, with spectators nearby, when she was ejected from her seat. The reports did not establish how she came out of the seat.
POSTA reported that the accident occurred in the fairground's mechanical rides area on Tuesday night, October 20, 2026, the final day of the festival.
Emergency responders, state investigators and municipal police provided first aid, according to Expreso. An ambulance took Rodríguez Tezoco to a hospital, where local reports said she died shortly after arrival. The Los Cabos city council confirmed her death in a statement, saying medical personnel had been unable to save her.
Rodríguez Tezoco had graduated from high school in 2026, according to local reports. POSTA, citing Eje Central, identified her as a former student of the Colegio de Bachilleres de Baja California Sur (CobachBC).
Ride checks and a change in leadership
After the fall, Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez ordered El Péndulo shut down and directed officials to inspect every other attraction at the fairground as a precaution, Expreso reported.
Los Cabos Civil Protection said private concessionaires with valid permits operated the fair's rides, according to POSTA. The department suspended the attraction involved in the accident and checked the other rides' technical documentation, insurance policies and mechanical condition before permitting the fair to continue.
Agúndez addressed a concert audience at the festival later that evening, asking residents to support Rodríguez Tezoco's family and promising municipal assistance. "It could have been any one of us. You are not alone," he said, according to local news reports.
The city also removed the head of its Municipal Directorate of Civil Protection and Risk Management. POSTA reported that the council announced Francisco Cota Márquez's departure on Wednesday, October 21. Known as "Profe Pancho," he had more than 40 years of emergency-services experience.
The council appointed Diego Camacho Hale, a public administration graduate, as interim head that same day. According to Expreso, the appointment was intended to give investigators unrestricted access to departmental records, safety procedures and operating permits.
Investigators examine safety and responsibility
The Baja California Sur State Attorney General's Office (PGJE) opened a formal investigation to establish liability, local outlets reported. POSTA said prosecutors secured both the ride and the accident area, and Rodríguez Tezoco's body was taken to the Forensic Medical Service (SEMEFO) for the legally required autopsy.
Engineering and architecture specialists were examining the attraction's compliance with safety standards, according to Expreso. By midweek, authorities had neither identified its operators nor announced any arrests.
POSTA cited local outlet Colectivo Pericú as reporting that Atracciones Roca operated the rides area where the accident occurred. That remained a media attribution: POSTA said authorities had not confirmed the company operating the individual ride or its name.
In its reporting on Atracciones Roca, POSTA said the company had managed mechanical rides at at least five Mexican fairs where accidents had occurred since 2022. Those incidents included a 39-year-old woman's fatal fall from a Ferris wheel at the 2024 Feria Nacional Potosina in San Luis Potosí, and injuries to two young people ejected from the "Canguro" ride at the 2025 Expo Feria in Guadalupe, Nuevo León.
Fox News Digital sought additional information from the mayor's office, Baja California Sur Public Security and the Los Cabos Transparency Office.
