State Congresswoman Evelyn Sánchez Sánchez submitted a bill to reform the Baja California Penal Code, seeking harsher legal consequences for individuals who intentionally trigger vehicle collisions to intimidate drivers into handing over cash (“montachoques”).
The bill proposes adding Section VIII to Article 224 Bis of the state penal code. The amendment would explicitly classify staged accidents as an aggravated form of extortion, establishing specific criminal penalties for anyone simulating a traffic collision to demand fraudulent payouts.
Lawmakers emphasize that these schemes pose a serious public safety threat. Perpetrators frequently use threats, verbal harassment, and physical violence to compel shaken drivers into paying out-of-pocket for damages that were deliberately orchestrated.
The urgency behind the legislation follows recent incidents in Tijuana. On September 16, local authorities dismantled two organized criminal cells allegedly specializing in these staged collisions, arresting ten suspects. The groups operated on Vía Rápida and Bulevar Insurgentes using multiple coordinated vehicles to box in victims, cause collisions, and extort cash.
Security concerns escalated further on September 22, when a driver in the Playas de Tijuana neighborhood was stabbed during a roadside confrontation linked to a suspected “montachoques” scheme.
Under the proposed reform, offenders would face the legal penalties reserved for aggravated extortion, which can boost base prison sentences by up to 50% alongside fines of up to 500 days. Sentences could double if the targets are elderly, disabled, women, or members of vulnerable demographics.
Congresswoman Sánchez highlighted that while extortion is already illegal, explicitly causing staged accidents is critical. Without specific legal language, police and courts often treat these engineered crashes as minor traffic disputes or civil matters rather than criminal extortion.
By closing this legal loophole, proponents hope to give law enforcement stronger tools to dismantle these extortion rings, protect driver safety, and safeguard families traveling across Baja California.
