CENTRAL FARM, Cayo District, Thurs. July 4, 2019– A hit-and-run collision occurred at about 7:30 Monday night on the George Price Highway near Running W Meats between Central Farm and Esperanza in the Cayo District, whereby a volunteer soldier who was driving a motorcycle was knocked down by a minivan that was traveling in the same direction he was going.
The incident took the life of a soldier of the Belize Defence Force Volunteer Elements’ B Company Detachment — Charles Bell, Jr., 20, of Blackman Eddy in the Cayo District.
Reliable information to us is that at about 7:30 Monday night, Bell, who had just finished duties at the BDF’s Camp Belezario, located in Central Farm, drove out of the camp on his motorcycle and was heading to Esperanza, Cayo District, when, on his arriving in front of Running W Meats, a white van that was traveling behind him, going from Central Farm to Esperanza, knocked him from off his motorcycle. The driver did not stop, leaving him hurt and bleeding on the right side of the road.
Bell suffered massive head injuries. Police found him on the right side of the road, in some bushes and took him to the Western Regional Hospital, where he was given initial treatment to stabilize him, after which he was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, but he died shortly after his arrival, at about 12:30 this morning.
A police investigation, with the cooperation of persons who were in the area at the time of the accident, led to a white van in San Ignacio that matched the description of the vehicle that knocked down the soldier. That vehicle has been impounded.
Police announced today that the driver of the van, identified as Cruz Saget de Jesus, 42, of St. Margaret’s Village, Cayo District, has been arrested and charged with causing death by careless conduct, manslaughter by negligence, driving without due care and attention, failing to render aid, failing to report an accident, and leaving the scene of an accident.
He will be arraigned for the offences today at the San Ignacio Magistrate’s Court.
Bell’s sister said that she saw her brother in the hospital, and his head and face were injured, but she did not see any injuries on his body, below the neck, except for a small abrasion on his knee.
She said his mouth was cut and a number of his teeth were knocked out as a result of the forceful hit he suffered. He also received a severe injury to the chest area, and he was not able to breathe on his own.
Those who knew him said that Bell was jovial and friendly, and his sister said that he loved being a soldier, which was something that he had wanted to do ever since he was a little boy. She said that her brother was saving his money to build his own house, when his life was cut short.