_{Photo: Andrew “Passy” Haylock}

by Charles Gladden

SAN IGNACIO, Cayo District, Thurs. Dec. 12, 2024

The twin towns of San Ignacio/Santa Elena have come together in solidarity to support the families affected by the horrific vehicular road-traffic accident, the worst in Belize’s history, which claimed the lives of 10 persons and injured 4 others, including 2 minors.

One man from San Ignacio Town, Cayo District, the owner of The Gully Grill, Andrew “Passy” Haylock took the initiative with a fundraiser titled, “Just a Dollar”, with all the proceeds going to the victims’ families.

The gruesome accident occurred last weekend on Saturday, December 7, near Mile 68 on the Benque Road of the George Price Highway, between Kontiki and Log Cabins, when two vehicles and a motorcycle collided.

The accident occurred after 10:00 p.m., and it involved a Toyota Corolla coming from the western border towards San Ignacio Town, a Ford Expedition SUV heading toward Benque Viejo Del Carmen Town, and a motorcycle with a sole rider trailing behind the SUV. Preliminary reports are that the Corolla with its 9 occupants drifted into the lane of the Ford SUV and collided head-on with it, and the motorcycle then crashed into the back of the SUV, killing its rider on the spot.

The Corolla reportedly flipped multiple times after crashing into the SUV, and then exploded into flames, killing everyone inside. The authorities have not yet determined the cause of the explosion, and at the printing of this issue, an official report has not been released.

In Tuesday’s issue of Amandala, Haylock mentioned that his initiative had really taken off, and that he didn’t know it would be this big.

“It’s heart-wrenching what we’re going through right now, and driving through the town, it’s a sad moment. You can feel the sadness in the air, but it’s a good cause. It’s a little bit overwhelming … People from Guatemala have reached out to me. People from the US have reached out to me; from England. So, sometimes it gets a bit emotional, because we know that evil is out there; but at the end of the day, it’s all about love,” he said.

In a social media post, it was stated that $25,680 was raised and would be distributed evenly to the families affected; and another post said over $10,800 was raised. When Amandala reached out to Haylock before press time on our queries about the fundraising, he wasn’t prepared to comment.

However, Haylock mentioned to other local media outlets that all of the monies have not yet been accounted for, as they are in international accounts. For local donations, money can be sent to Haylock’s Belize Bank Account number 123827010220002.