Photo: RTA in Cotton tree
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Tues. Jan. 16, 2024
Over the long weekend, there were three major road traffic accidents which together claimed the lives of three persons and left several others injured.
On January 13 in Cotton Tree village in the Cayo District, 48-year-old Ana Rivera died in a head-on collision between a black Lincoln Navigator, driven by 51-year-old Jose Aguilar, and a red pickup truck operated by 31-year-old Jerson Alcantara. The Navigator, in which Rivera was a passenger, swerved to avoid the oncoming truck, but hit it directly. Alcantara and his passenger, 27-year-old Tania Duran, also sustained injuries.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Hilberto Romero confirmed Rivera’s death due to severe head and body injuries, and stated that all other persons who were involved in the accident are in stable condition. He assured the public that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident and potential charges.
A second incident occurred on the Hummingbird Highway near Mile 53 in the early hours of Sunday, January 14, when a Nissan pickup in which Elifara Vasquez, 31, and Moises Perez, 38, were traveling, collided with a Ford F-150 driven by Omar Cawich, 44.
Perez, a passenger in Vasquez’s Nissan pickup, had accompanied the pastor to carry out a church-related activity in Bella Vista, Toledo. When the Nissan pickup had passed a junction near La Cabana restaurant in Belmopan on their return from Toledo, Cawich’s pickup reportedly drove onto the road and the two vehicles collided. Perez, a father of four, succumbed to his injuries at the Western Regional Hospital, while both Vasquez and Cawich are currently in stable condition. ACP Romero told reporters that Cawich has been arrested and charged with manslaughter by negligence, causing death by careless conduct, and driving without due care and attention.
Further adding to the tragic toll, a motorcycle accident on Monday, January 15, resulted in the death of 40-year-old Elvis Tzib. Reportedly, Tzib, who was not wearing a helmet, crashed into the sidewalk near the Cristo Rey football field, which caused him to suffer severe head trauma. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, in an interview expressed deep concern over the recent spike of road traffic fatalities.
“We are losing a number of persons to traffic incidents along our highways,” he stated. As a response to the spike, joint operations that will extend to late hours have been initiated between the Department of Transport and the police to enhance highway safety.
Williams highlighted the need for legal amendments, particularly regarding the use of speed guns and breathalyzers. “The way how the law is structured, it calls for one specific type of speed gun which is no longer in commission,” Williams explained, and he pointed to the need to include other types of speed guns.
Additionally, he called for legal changes to be made to allow printed receipts from breathalyzer tests to be admissible in court as prima facie evidence against individuals charged with driving under the influence.