28.3 C
Belize City
Thursday, March 28, 2024

World Down Syndrome Day

Photo: Students and staff of Stella Maris...

BPD awards 3 officers with Women Police of the Year

Photo: (l-r) Myrna Pena, Carmella Cacho, and...

Suicide on the rise!

Photo: Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator by Charles...

On air, WUB caller died of an apparent cardiac arrest

HeadlineOn air, WUB caller died of an apparent cardiac arrest

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 20, 2020– A caller died with a phone in his hand while talking to a talk show host, something that to our knowledge, has never happened before in Belize.

Around 33 minutes into the Wake Up Belize Morning Vibes (WUB) show, the caller gained access to the WUB airwaves and he raised the issue of the Coronavirus that was recently discovered in China, and said that Belize health authorities should begin screening Asians coming into the country.

From that topic, he went into humming the nursery rhyme “Ring a Ring a Roses, pocket full a posies.”

The caller then went on to explain that we have “a lip-sync government.” Then he burst into his nursery rhyme tune again, this time adding, “socks full a posies.”

WUB host Evan “Mose” Hyde remarked, “Brother Karanza, your singing no deh deh, but your creativity is high.”

The caller then went into the subject of the two ministers who allegedly took money from an accused fraudster.

Hyde then embarked on an explanation, and while he was talking, the caller asked him “to stick a pin, let me say something.”

Hyde asked him to hold on, as he continued talking.

In the background, there was the sound of a thud, and then a woman’s scream of “Keith, Keith” was heard in the background, as Hyde continued developing his argument.

The woman’s voice was heard saying to someone, “I no know what happen to Keith, ie eye di tun up.”

Not aware of what was happening, Hyde said, “Yu deh talk to me, or yu di have another conversation, brother Karanza?”

The woman whose screams of “Keith, Keith” were heard in the background on the WUB show is Judith Young, 67, the common-law wife of Keith Karanza Swift.

While Swift, 67, was on the WUB call, Young was inside their bedroom finishing up her morning devotion.

When she went into the living room where Swift was seated on a chair, she found that his cell phone had fallen from his hand onto the floor. His eyes had rolled backward..

Swift had suffered a massive cardiac arrest. He was dead.

We asked Young if Swift had any history of hypertension, or any similar ailment.

“No, he only had diabetes,” Young replied, “his diabetes was manageable; he managed his diabetes well.”

Young explained that he was in good health, apart from his diabetes.

Young described Swift as someone who had a loud mouth, but was a truthful person.
Young said she has lived with Swift for almost 20 years.

“He was a jovial person who did not tolerate nonsense from anyone,” Young explained.

Young said Swift had lived in the United States since he was a young child. When he returned to Belize to live, he worked as a technician who repaired refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and other home appliances.

“He got his schooling for his profession in Boston,” Young said.

Swift was a father of two children, one Canadian and one American, Young told us.

Shelmadine, his daughter, lives in Canada, while his son, Keith, Jr., lives in Tennessee, Young said. Swift was a grandfather of 3 — two granddaughters and one grandson.

Young explained that Swift was an avid talk show caller. He called almost all the talk shows. He called Wave and Positive Vibes, but KREM was his favorite.

Mose Hyde told Amandala that Swift, whom he described this morning as very intelligent, has been calling the WUB show for more than a decade.

Young told us that the funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

Feature photo: Judith Young, common-law wife of Keith Karanza Swift., deceased

Check out our other content

World Down Syndrome Day

Suicide on the rise!

Check out other tags:

International