Photo: Alex Calderon, deceased

by Charles Gladden

ORANGE WALK, Mon. Aug. 21, 2023

Two men lost their lives in a road traffic accident that occurred early on Saturday morning, August 19, outside of Orange Walk Town while on their way to work at a construction site. The deceased have been identified as 29-year-old Alex Calderon and his brother-in-law, 24-year-old Ruperto Carlos Novelo, both of San Roman Village in the Orange Walk District.

According to initial reports, Calderon and Novelo were riding together on a motorcycle on the Philip Goldson Highway on their way to Orange Walk Town, and when they neared the infamous Mameyal Curve between Miles 59 and 60, both men collided head-on with an SUV heading from Orange Walk to Corozal, and they were flung off the motorcycle onto the pavement.

The motorcycle ended up in some bushes on the side of the highway.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero, OC of the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division, said that they are coordinating an investigation and recording statements to determine who is at fault in order to levy charges.

Novelo’s mother, Gladys Novelo told reporters that her son and her son-in-law were employed as construction workers and were heading to work at around 6:30 a.m., at the construction site at the roundabout.

During an interview with local reporters, Novelo expressed that the driver of the SUV attempted to leave the scene but was stopped by witnesses.

“My son-in-law immediately died, and this person that called me said that the person that crashed them was still there and he actually wanted to leave. But there was a person who saw him and said he shouldn’t do that. A little while later, the Traffic Department reached, and he was trying to run away from the Traffic department. So, then he did admit to them that, yes, he did crash into them,” she said.

Novelo said that a report that the victims were intoxicated while on the motorcycle is false, and that she believes that the accused is being protected by his status.

“One of my brothers-in-law said, that’s not a valid excuse because we’ve all seen how the news has put up that they (son and son-in-law) were drunk driving from San Joaquin. They even alerted their boss from the construction site to come and see what was happening, and he came,” she expressed.

“… They are saying that my son-in-law was drunk and caused the accident. This man works at Belize Live News; he is a reporter and, in the news, they haven’t revealed his name nor shown any pictures of him or anything. So, what are they doing? Protecting him? Don’t only show the damages my sons have suffered,” she emotionally added.

Novelo is pleading to authorities to do their job and not let her son and son-in-law’s deaths be in vain as they were model citizens.

Victor Castillo has been served with a NIP (Notice of Intended Prosecution), and samples of his bodily fluids were obtained for testing.

Novelo leaves behind a two-year-old toddler and his common-law wife, who is six months pregnant.