GEORGEVILLE, Cayo District, Mon. Mar. 29, 2021– Two men lost their lives on Friday night as a result of a fatal road traffic accident which took place near Georgeville, in the Cayo District. Reports from the police are that 44-year-old Lionel Chavarria and 23-year-old Charles Jones died following a head-on collision of the vehicles in which the men had been traveling, which were both overturned and mangled during the collision.
ACP Joseph Myvett of the Police Department said that a Ford F-150 pick-up driven by Mario Aldana, a resident of San Ignacio, was traveling in an east-to-west direction when he decided to overtake the vehicle in front of him. This is when he collided head-on with a small white vehicle being driven by Chavarria. Also in that vehicle were Charles Jones, the driver’s stepson, and Ian Staine.
Chavarria reportedly died on the spot. Jones was taken to the San Ignacio Community Hospital, where he died while being treated for his injuries.
The Police Department has since levied a number of charges against Aldana, including two counts of manslaughter by negligence, two counts of causing death by careless conduct, and one count each of negligent wounding, driving without due care and attention, driving without a driver’s permit, and failing to provide a specimen.
While police reported that the victims were in a moving car, reports from a family member of the victims, and an eyewitness are that they were parked on the roadside, with hazard lights on, when the truck slammed into the vehicle.