_{Photo: Carlos Romero, deceased}

by Charles Gladden

BELMOPAN, Fri. Nov. 15, 2024

A teenager from Belmopan lost his life when a dump truck ran over him on Thursday, November 14, while he was riding his motorcycle in the Maya Mopan area of Belmopan.

Initial reports are indicating that around 3:00 p.m. that day, the deceased, 19-year-old Carlos Romero, was riding his motorcycle when a Ford 10-wheeler truck hit him at the intersection of St. Jude and St. Peter Streets.

According to reports, a loud bang was heard when the collision occurred, causing the driver of the truck, Lo Ammi-Gomez, to exit the vehicle. He then saw Romero’s motorcycle wedged under the truck’s rear right wheel and his body on the left side.

Gomez and an off-duty police officer then removed Romero from underneath the truck.

“I thought he broke his hands,” said the father of the deceased, Jorge Romero. “I received a call from a friend and she told me that he was in an accident. I came out [from work] and picked up my wife because she also works,” he added.

Romero was taken to the Western Regional Hospital for medical treatment. Jorge Romero explained that his son-in-law told him that Carlos was talking on his way to the hospital, but died hours later.

“The doctor called me in because he told me that he wanted to do an ultrasound; and they gave me the price and I told him, “Yes, I will do it”. They were preparing him at that time to take him to the lab, and then the complications started, and he started bleeding in his nose. About 20 minutes to half an hour [later], [the doctor] called me back and gave me the bad news that my son had passed away,” Romero said.

He explained that before his son’s untimely death, he was working as a courier delivery man. Additionally, he lamented the fact that the driver of the truck did not stop immediately after hitting his son.

“The driver told my son-in-law that he was at fault; and what my son-in-law tells me as well is that the truck never stops, like it continued, you know, and they stop him. It’s against the law to move a vehicle if you knock anyone or are in an accident,” Romero said.

“He was a nice young guy, hardworking; he had dreams to do in his life because he’s very young, 19 years old. He was a good guy; I have no complaints about him. I never heard that he got involved in a fight or never got arrested,” Romero noted.

Gomez has been detained pending charges, as a police investigation continues.