by Charles Gladden

COROZAL, Thurs. Feb. 13, 2025

A Corozaleno man, 48-year-old Gaspar Cantun, lost his life on Wednesday, February 13, while driving in his Chevrolet Tracker on the Ferry Road en route to Corozal Town from Copper Bank Village.

Sometime after 4:00 p.m., Cantun was driving his car – as mentioned above – when he reportedly lost control of his vehicle, flipped multiple times before coming to a stop.

_{Car Cantun was traveling in}

Cantun was traveling with his brother, Santiago, who was in the passenger seat, but he sustained only minor scratches to his right arm.

In the morning before Cantun’s untimely death, he had dropped off his common-law-wife, Alba Chan, with whom he shared 17 years, at the Belize-Mexico border, and had intentions to go for her when she returned to the country.

When she got to Belize, attempts were made to contact Cantun, but she couldn’t reach him. When she arrived home, she discovered their home locked and decided to look for her daughters at school. While going home, one of their friends told them that Cantun was involved in an accident.

“When we reached, we saw the car, and there were [construction] workers on the side of the road. They told us that [he] turned three times; but when it first turned, he [Cantun] was hanging out of the window, and it stopped, he stayed like that,” said Chan in Spanish, which was translated into English.

“… He was taken to the hospital when the ambulance came. He had a lot of blood coming out, and when he got to the hospital, he was still alive, but had died when we got there. He had his eyes open, but blood was coming out from his nose, eyes, mouth, everywhere,” she added.

Cantun had gone to Copper Bank to help his brother sell clothes in the village when they got into the accident.

Cantun was a hardworking, respected family man who ensured that his family was taken care of.

“He never left us to starve. He always found something to do for us to be good. He loved his daughters and grandchildren. Wherever he went, they would follow behind him. He was humble. Even though he didn’t have much, when someone would beg for help, he would give them something,” Chan said.

The deceased, Gaspar Cantun, leaves behind six children.