A motorcycle, a bicycle, and possibly even a vehicle, were all involved in a freak traffic accident which left one young man, Maurice Usher, 21, clinging to life and reportedly facing only a 15% chance of survival.
Usher was admitted into the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital on Friday evening, and has since been in a coma.
Two others also suffered injuries: Efrain Beltran Martinez, 47, who suffered only minor scrapes and bruises to his right shoulder and left leg, and Nigel Williams, 20, who suffered scrapes to his face and entire left side of his body upon impact on the ground. Both men have since been released from the hospital.
The traffic accident occurred between Miles 3 and 4 on the Western Highway on Friday, July 8, 2011, at approximately 6:40 p.m. According to the information we gathered, Usher was driving the motorcycle with his cousin Williams on the back; neither of the two men was wearing a helmet.
Usher and Williams were headed in the direction of Belize City when they collided with a bicycle being ridden by Martinez, who was also heading in the direction of Belize City.
Other conflicting information suggests that a vehicle slammed into the motorcycle, which then slammed into the bicycle; that version has not been confirmed.
Usher was flung from the motorcycle to the pavement, and as a result sustained a fractured skull and head injuries.
Usher is the older brother of Marquis Mahler, 8, who was murdered by a gunman who chased him in his own yard and shot him a total of seven times on July 9, 2010. Marquis succumbed to his injuries on July 10, 2010 at the KHMH, on the birthday of his mother, Delia Lewis.
Usher, we were told, had been returning from the family farm on the Western Highway, where Mahler was buried, where he had gone to pay respects to the little brother whom he loved so much, since this weekend was the anniversary of his death.
Amandala spoke today with Martinez, who told us that he had been riding his bicycle on the right side of the road heading home from work with his co-worker, who was walking on the inside. Martinez explained that he knew it was a motorcycle that hit him, but that he is unaware of the events leading up to the accident.
Martinez’ son translated the interview with his father for us, and said that at the time of the accident, “He didn’t see from where the motorcycle was coming; he just felt the hit.”
According to Martinez, he passed out immediately upon the impact of his body to the ground. His bicycle’s back wheel was extensively damaged.
Martinez’s friend had to immediately drag him off the road, because a vehicle, which had been coming behind the motorcycle, appeared to be headed directly toward Martinez.
Martinez reportedly regained consciousness while in the ambulance heading to the hospital.
Usher’s mother, Delia Lewis, told us that she learned of her son’s accident while doing laundry at home. She is still trying to recover from Mahler’s murder last year, and told us that she is hoping that Usher survives, against the odds.
“He always tells me he’s strong; with all the prayers, God will answer,” says Lewis.
Lewis was asked just how hard it is to have such tragedies occur on her birthday, two years in a row. She replied, “To be honest, a birthday will always be there; it’s very hard; my son is fighting for his life right now and I am praying that he will come out and be successful.”
She told us that Usher currently is bleeding internally in his head, and doctors have since attached a bag to capture the seeping blood.
So far police have not been able to locate the driver who allegedly hit Usher, or the vehicle that was reportedly behind the motorcycle at the time of the accident.