The victim’s body was discovered almost 6 hours later by commuters on a bus

Relatives and friends solemnly gathered at the residence of John Wade, 53, today – all stunned at the shocking loss of the well-known villager after the news of his sudden death had spread throughout the rural community of Bermudian Landing.

Wade was travelling on an ATV between the villages of Double Head Cabbage and Bermudian Landing at around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday night when, upon reaching a curve, he reportedly lost control of the ATV and overturned, suffering fatal head and body injuries. His body was not discovered until after 5:00 the next morning when a bus loaded with commuters, headed for Burrell Boom, came across the scene at the right hand side of the road.

Today, Officer in Charge of the Belize Rural area, ASP Chris Noble, briefed the media on the incident. He said, “This morning, the police were called out to an area in Bermudian Landing near a curve. We then met somebody who had some injuries. An ATV was also in the immediate area. The gentleman was identified and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead and we’re looking into the circumstances that may have caused it. Our preliminaries are that he may have been by himself and may have lost control. We are looking into whether or not that is so.”

At the scene, we spoke with a neighbor who lives in the vicinity where the accident occurred, who told us that she was awakened by a commotion early this morning, and when she came out to check, she noticed that Wade’s body was lying on the edge of the road, still clutching his ATV, which had toppled on his body.
We later spoke with his brother-in-law, Stanley Herrera, who mentioned that he and Wade were just hanging out together the day before, and that he is still trying to come to grips with the abrupt loss of his close friend and farmhand.

Herrera said, “What I understand happened is that sometime last night, he was out on his bike and while on his way back from Double Head Cabbage, he lost control of his bike. I’m not sure if he was drinking at the time, but I know that it is [a] great loss for us.”

Herrera said that he got a frantic call from his sister – Delvorine Wade – later that night about 11:00 p.m., informing him that her husband had gone out several hours ago, but had not returned yet.
Wade said that it wasn’t until after 5:00 the next morning that he got another call from his sister – this time to notify him of Wade’s death.

Herrera described Wade as a family man, stating, “He is always involved in whatever the family is doing, and whenever the family wants to do a get-together, he is always there to organize everything and always giving jokes; even when we are serious, he still tries to make everyone laugh.”

“I’m not exactly sure how we [the family] are going to move on”, Herrera said sadly. “I don’t know what will be our next move after this, because he was my right-hand man on our farm.”

Wade leaves to mourn his death a total of 4 children: 2 daughters and 2 stepdaughters.