GEORGE PRICE HIGHWAY, Tues. Mar. 31, 2015–A return trip to Santa Elena Town, Cayo District, almost turned fatal for a couple whose SUV crashed into an 18-wheeler towhead shortly after 8:00 last night.

According to Hattieville police, Angel Lopez, 32, of Ebony Street, Belize City, was in the driver’s seat of a white 16-wheeler trailer, with a loaded container, that was reversing onto the compound of Caribbean Paper Company at Mile 13 on the George Price Highway when a Ford Escape SUV slammed into its side.

The SUV was being driven at the time by Jefferson Dawson, a businessman and resident of Santa Elena Town, who was traveling in the direction of Belmopan with his wife, Carmella Dawson, 47.

As a result of the collision’s impact, the SUV ended up lodged beneath the trailer, and while emergency personnel who responded to the scene were able to take Mrs. Dawson out of the vehicle without difficulty, her husband remained trapped in the wreckage and had to be subsequently extricated by members of the National Fire Service who also responded to the accident.

Both victims were then transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City, where Mrs. Dawson was treated for her injuries, while Mr. Dawson remains hospitalized with varying degrees of injuries, mainly to his face.

Police said that statements have since been taken from eyewitnesses of the accident, and that Lopez has been served with a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP).

Hattieville police told us that they plan to also serve Jefferson Dawson with an NIP as soon as he recovers from his injuries.

In the meantime, police said that investigations are ongoing to ascertain which of the drivers was at fault.