In the SpanDict, one of the possible meanings of "desarrollarse" is "to take place." However, is it possible that "to take place" doesn't always work when, for example, referring to a single event that takes place for an instant, that does not, in any sense, "develop" or "unfold"?
In other words, it sounds correct to say, "fue un accidente" or "se produjo un accidente" to mean there was an accident, I.e., an accident took place. But there seems something odd about saying "se desarrolló un accidente."
One of the examples in SpanDict is this:" La acción de la película se desarrolla en Roma." Here, the action that took place was an action that entailed a process, a development if you will, so I can see how "se desarrolla" works in that sentence to mean "takes place."
But to say an accident took place is different. There is no process involved, no development. So would "un accidente se desarrolló" be correct?