TRIAL FARM, Orange Walk District, Wed. June 16, 2021– Police are piecing together their understanding of a sequence of events that led to what they believe was possibly the intentional use of a vehicle to fatally injure a 19-year-old on Sunday night, in Trial Farm Village. The 19-year-old, Jillian Garcia, was run over by a vehicle driven by persons with whom he had been involved in an argument earlier in the night. The driver of the vehicle is claiming, however, that he lost control of the vehicle and accidentally collided into Garcia before running over him, and causing his death.
Reports are that Garcia, the victim, was out socializing with friends at Mix Cool Spot, in Trial Farm, when he got into a hostile verbal exchange with three other patrons at the pub. Garcia, who was with friends at the time of the argument, decided to leave the establishment, but was followed by the three persons involved in the spat.
“He opted to leave, and he was followed by one of the persons that they were arguing with, or persons, more than one of them who got into the vehicle and claims that they lost control. Witnesses are saying that he was driving at a very high speed when he ran over Garcia and crashed into a lamppost nearby,” explained the communications director of the Belize Police Department, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, in a press briefing on Monday.
Incidentally, the occupants of the vehicle at the time it ran over Garcia were 29-year-old Luigi Chable (reportedly the driver at the time), 23-year-old Amir Gonzalez, and two minors — a 16- and a 15-year-old. ASP Yearwood told local media that after the fatal incident, the driver “then made good his escape from the scene and was later detained by the police along with three others, including two minors.” Before escaping, the allegedly torced the Mitsubishi Outlander being driven at the scene.
According to police, the evidence they’ve gathered so far suggests that the car’s collision into Garcia might not have been accidental. The driver and occupants of the vehicle have since been taken into police custody and served with notices of intended prosecution.
“So we have them detained pending charges. Investigators are treating it in the same manner that is suggested because it’s too much of a coincidence that after you had an argument with a group, one of those persons may have used his vehicle as a weapon,” ASP Yearwood said.
The victim’s family is calling for a full and thorough investigation into the untimely death of their loved one.
Recent reports are that driver of the vehicle, Chable, turned himself into police and was subsequently charged with manslaughter by negligence among a slew of other charges.