The victims were 3 foreign students and the taxi operator

Three foreign students who were returning to their countries after studying in Belize died after the taxi which was transporting them to the Philip Goldson International Airport from San Ignacio got in a tragic road accident on a bridge on the George Price Highway.

The driver of the taxi was also killed.

The taxi collided with a passenger bus on the Floral Park Bridge at Mile 60 on the George Price Highway at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 2.

Police said that all three passengers of the taxi were female students who arrived in Belize on June 4 to conduct their Master’s Research with the Belize Valley Archeology Project at the Cahal Pech site. They had finished their tour of studies and they were on their way to the Philip Goldson Airport, going back to their respective countries, which were the United States, Greece, and Malta. After they departed, another group of three or four would come.

Ioanna Thomopoulou, 25, a student from Greece; Angela Bugeja, 24, a student from Malta, and taxicab operator Eliseo Chan, 64, of San Ignacio, were declared dead on the scene. Molly Hude, 24, a student from the United States of America, died shortly after while she was being transported to the Belmopan Hospital.

The Westline bus driver said that he was coming down the hill by the Orange Gallery, and was approaching the bridge at about 15 miles an hour when he saw a white car coming around the curve, but it was coming too fast, and when he, the car driver, turned the curve, the car drifted off its lane and slammed into the front of the bus on the bridge.

The bus driver said that he tried to avoid the collision, and in doing so, he ended up on the pedestrian sidewalk on the bridge near the rail. He believed the car driver lost control of his vehicle because he was coming too fast.

First responders Sandra Wragg and her daughter Linda Jael told Amandala that they were at their home, which is about 100 yards from the bridge, when they heard a loud sound like the exploding of a bomb, which caused them to look out, and they saw a bus on the rail of the bridge.

They rushed to the scene, where they saw the frightened passengers of the bus. They then saw a car wedged under the bus. The car was a mangled wreck. When they looked inside, they saw four persons, three women in the back seat and the driver, who was obviously dead, with the steering wheel embedded in his chest area.

Jael said that the woman on the right hand side of the back seat, at first glance, seemed also to be dead due to the impact; she was bleeding from all over her body. Her legs and neck appeared broken, among other severe injuries.

The young woman in the center, when she was lifted out of the vehicle, appeared to have many broken bones – her arms were broken in several places, and her ribs were definitely broken, said Jael. Moreover, her legs were completely broken and she could see that the ribcage was swollen, she said.

The third young woman had the most horrible injuries. She was totally folded over, and her head was trapped underneath the driver’s seat. When they tried to pull her out, she was totally broken up. Her leg bone was projecting out through a huge hole on her leg, and she was badly contorted. Her leg was broken in several places; her neck was also broken and her scalp was torn and “peeled” back, said Jael, but she was still breathing.

The woman had bitten down on her tongue on impact, causing her whole mouth to become swollen. She was bleeding through her nose, ears, and from the mouth, said first responder, Jael. She, along with the other accident victims, was taken out and put on the roadside, and the ambulance came shortly after, but although she was still breathing then, she died on the way to the Belmopan Hospital.

Apparently, the woman in the center of the back seat died immediately.

Linda Jael told Amandala that she was a first responder and was trained in First Aid. When the first woman on the right was taken out and put on the roadside, she began to clear the air passage of the woman, but she was grasping for breath, and her breathing was erratic. The woman was bleeding from all over, and she tried to get a cloth to elevate her head. She shouted for help and for a cloth, but assistance was hardly rendered.

Shortly after she took a cloth out of the luggage and put it under the woman’s head for elevation, for easier breathing. However, despite her efforts, the woman gave up her last breath, and died while she was trying to help her.

Jael said that the ambulance came shortly after. Molly Hude, who was the woman on the left side of the back seat, and who was broken up and her head severely damaged, was taken to the Belmopan Hospital, but she did not survive.

Jael said that she was disappointed in the handling of the three bodies. The woman with the broken arms and chest was lifted by the arms and put alongside the woman she had tried to help. The bodies were put on the roadside carelessly, she said, adding that that the police vehicle came first, and instead of taking the bodies, took the luggage.

Shortly after, another police pickup truck came and took the bodies away. There were no sheets, and she got two sheets to cover them, from her home, but one victim was taken uncovered. She said that all she was thinking about was helping the people and praying for their survival. Her hands were soaked with blood, since she was not wearing gloves. Blood had dried on her hands and was leaving an odor, but she was not worried.

Jael told Amandala that throughout Tuesday night she was unable to sleep, and was devastated by the experience. She has seen many accidents, but this one was the worst she had witnessed.

Her mother, Sandra Wragg, told Amandala that when they arrived on the scene, she assisted in taking out the first woman, who was folded in two as if her backbone was not there. She began to pray for her and talk to her, but she figured that she was not hearing her.

She said that although the woman may not have heard her, at least the words of God were said over her before she departed this life.

Wragg said that the collision was terrible and they are devastated, and she also is unable to sleep. She said that the curve on the approach of the bridge is very dangerous, and it causes vehicles to drift to the left, and adding to the danger is a bamboo patch that has grown on the right side of the road, which obstructs a clear view of the bridge.

She calls on the authorities to get rid of the bamboo patch and urges drivers to be more careful. Wragg said that others who responded to the accident were Jaclyn Valencia, who single-handedly took Molly Hude out of the mangled wreckage, and also, a gentleman who assisted selflessly. She also wants to commend the police for their quick response and assistance in the time of the tragedy.

The mother and daughter made a memorial on the scene of the collision. About 10 candles in jars, along with flowers and two pieces of clothing used to assist the victims were placed on the bridge, about 12:30 p.m. today.

Jael said that about 7:00 last evening, a group came to the scene where they lit candles, said prayers and sang in memory of the victims.

Police said that their initial investigation revealed that the car was travelling from San Ignacio towards Belmopan, and upon approaching the bridge, the driver of the car, Eliseo Chan, 64, a taxi operator, collided into the bus.

Inspector Reyes, Deputy Commander of the San Ignacio Police, wants to remind drivers to observe speed limits, and also, when on the scene of an accident, people are to keep at a distance, so that the police can do a proper investigation of the scene.

Dr. Jaime Awe, the mentor of the three passengers of the taxi, told reporters they were all shocked when they heard the news that the three students who had worked with him had died. He said that the American student, Molly Hude, in particular, had worked with him at Cahal Pech for several years, and she had been in Greece doing studies on heritage management and had written him asking if her friends could join her, and so they came and worked them.

Dr. Awe said that he and the Department are grieving, because the students had become part of their extended family. He has been teaching students at Cahal Pech for more than 20 years, and so to deal with such tragedy is very hard – a terrible experience that he would never want to go through again, he said.

Arrangements are being made through their respective embassies to return the students to their country, at the conclusions of the post-mortem, scheduled to be conducted today, Thursday, July 4, at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.