Ricardo Eustace Castellanos, 47, a resident of San Joaquin, Corozal, lost his life when he was knocked down by a taxi driver, also of San Joaquin, who has been issued a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP).

The taxi driver, Giovanni Correa, 56, reported that he was driving his car from Corozal to Orange Walk, and that when he approached Louisville, Corozal District, at an area between Miles 74 and 73 on the Philip Goldson Highway, he knocked down a man.

Correa told police that the man, who was walking on the right side of the road, suddenly ran onto the road and threw himself into the path of the oncoming vehicle, slamming into the right front portion of the car. The man fell violently onto the road and died almost immediately from massive head and facial injuries. Correa reported that the incident happened quickly, and that there was nothing he could have done to avoid hitting the man.

Police say that when they went to the scene, they saw the motionless body of a Hispanic man lying face down in the middle of the highway and a green 1996 Toyota Corolla car, L/P CZL-D-1913, about 400 feet away on the side of the road.

According to CTV3 Belize, Castellanos lived with his grandmother in San Joaquin and frequently visited his mother, who lives in Orange Walk Town. Police believe he was intoxicated when the accident occurred.