Reina Sabas: The sixth death at Smart Fit that uncovers the crisis

The Smart Fit gym chain is in the eye of the storm. The death of 39-year-old Reina Sabas at the Tlatelolco location is the sixth death recorded at its facilities since February 2024, raising alarms and prompting a wrongful death investigation.

A recurring tragedy has put the safety protocols of one of the country's largest gym chains under scrutiny. Reina Sabas, a 39-year-old member, died on the night of May 20 while exercising at the Smart Fit branch located in Plaza Tlatelolco, in the Cuauhtémoc borough. According to witnesses, the woman suddenly fainted in the leg machine area and did not respond.

What could have been an isolated incident has become the focus of public outrage after it was revealed that this is the sixth fatal case to occur at gyms belonging to the same chain in just over a year.

The Mexico City Attorney General's Office (FGJ-CDMX) has taken action, placing immobilization seals on the property and initiating an investigation into the crime of negligent homicide by omission, suggesting that possible negligence is being investigated.

The Reina Sabas case is not an isolated incident. The chronology of deaths at Smart Fit is alarming and follows a disturbing pattern:

• * March 2025: A 40-year-old man in Cuautitlán Izcalli, Edomex.
• * November 2024: A 74-year-old man in Plaza Zentralia, Iztapalapa.
• * April 2024: Loyda Y., 60 years old, in Tepeyac Park, GAM.
• * February 2024: Ailene Sánchez, 20, in Puerta Aragón, GAM. Witnesses reported that staff tried to prevent an ambulance from being called.
• * February 2024: A 49-year-old man on Via 515, Iztacalco, due to a heart attack.

"In several of these cases, a lack of medical personnel and an absence of emergency care protocols have been noted," states a report grouping the incidents, pointing to a possible systemic failure in the supply chain.

The central question that arises from this series of tragedies concerns the company's responsibility. Smart Fit's low-cost business model, which has democratized access to exercise, could be minimizing costs in crucial areas such as staff training in first aid or the availability of essential medical equipment, such as defibrillators.

Reports indicate that in the contract users sign, the company may be absolving itself of liability by stating that it does not offer specialized medical services, a clause now at the center of a legal and ethical debate. Public outrage demands answers: Is the low price of well-being costing lives?