---
title: "Truck Driver Arrested After Plowing Through Ancient Nazca Lines Archaeological Site in Peru"
description: "There are wrong turns, and then there's this: A truck driver was arrested after plowing his big rig through a world-famous archaeological site in Peru known as the Nazca Lines, leaving \"deep scars\" across a large section of the ancient landscape."
date: "2018-02-01"
modified: "2018-02-01"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/18147/truck-driver-arrested-after-plowing-through-ancient-nazca-lines-archaeological-site-in-peru"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Trucks"
tags:
  - "Archaeology"
  - "peru"
  - "Semi Truck"
  - "south america"
  - "Truck"
---

# Truck Driver Arrested After Plowing Through Ancient Nazca Lines Archaeological Site in Peru

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/02/nazca.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

There are [wrong turns,](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/10154/watch-an-idiot-do-everything-wrong-off-road-almost-destroy-ford-f250>) and then there's this: A truck driver was arrested after plowing his big rig through a world-famous archaeological site in Peru known as the Nazca Lines, leaving "deep scars" across a large section of the ancient landscape.

![message-editor%2F1517512960484-lineas\_de\_nazca\_nazca\_peru\_2015-07-29\_dd\_49copy.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1517512960484-lineas_de_nazca_nazca_peru_2015-07-29_dd_49copy.jpg>)
*"The Monkey", *Creative Commons**

Spanning for hundreds of miles across a high plateau in southern Peru, the [Nazca Lines](<https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/700>) are a series of massive, complex geoglyphs carved into the desert floor thousands of years ago by the Nazca people. Some of the lines come together to form gigantic pictures of humans and animals that can only be distinguished from the sky; others stretch out arrow-straight for thousands of feet. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Peru's most prized cultural treasures.

https://youtube.com/embed/DZg-pB46axo

Unfortunately, there are now some new lines in the rocky soil. Local police detained a 40-year-old driver named Jainer Jesús Flores Vigo after he was spotted driving his [semi-truck](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/16158/watch-this-semi-truck-driver-stop-short-and-save-a-childs-life>) off the nearby Pan-American Highway and across the pristine landscape on Saturday evening. An inspection the next day revealed "deep scars" in the ground and tire damage to three of the ancient straight-line glyphs, [according to an official report](<https://www.cultura.gob.pe/es/comunicacion/noticia/comunicado-ministerio-de-cultura-denuncia-penalmente-chofer-de-camion-que>) from Peru's Culture Ministry.

https://twitter.com/_/status/958120324029173760

Vigo told authorities he didn't realize the area was a protected site and left the roadway because of a mechanical issue, [according to *NPR*.](<https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/31/582269403/truck-driver-plows-over-perus-2-000-year-old-nazca-lines-leaving-deep-scars>) However, [other reports](<https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/desvio-camino-paso-camion-historicas-lineas-nazca-piden-meses-prision-preventiva_0_H1GYPvRrf.html>) suggested he might have been trying to avoid a toll. Police later released him after a local magistrate determined it couldn't be proved that Vigo intentionally caused the damage, though prosecutors are reportedly appealing the decision.

And though it's not the first time humans have disturbed the Nazca Lines—Greenpeace came under heavy criticism in 2014 after activists trampled an area while setting up a protest banner to be seen by tourist helicopter flights—this latest incident may spark some changes. A spokesman for the Culture Ministry [told state-run news agency *Andina*](<https://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/noticia-nazca-lines-peru-to-take-stringent-measures-to-avoid-further-damage-697755.aspx>) that officials are considering [24-hour drone surveillance](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/15092/drones-in-law-enforcement-how-where-and-when-theyre-used>) to help prevent future incursions.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)