Photo: (Top) Noemias Cantun (Bottom l-r) Pedro Mendez and Victor Tamay, deceased
by Charles Gladden
ORANGE WALK, Thurs. Jan. 11, 2024
Three lives were lost as a result of a single vehicular traffic accident that occurred outside of Orange Walk Town on Wednesday night, January 10. The victims were identified as Noemias Cantun, 40, a taxi driver of San Victor Village, Corozal District; Pedro Fidencio Mendez, 25, of an unknown address; and Victor Enrique Tamay, 19, also of an unknown address.
According to official police reports, sometime after 9:00 p.m., Cantun was behind the wheel of a Toyota Previa Van with Tamay and Mendez as his passengers traveling in a North-to-South direction toward the Orange Walk bypass. The van hit the roundabout signs and cement monument at the San Estevan Roundabout, and this caused it to flip multiple times.
All the occupants were flung out of the van and perished at the scene. Cantun sustained cut wounds to the left side of his forehead above the right eyebrow, top of the head, and left elbow; Tamay suffered cut wounds to the right arm, and left side of the forehead and cheek; and Mendez was cut to the right side of his head and behind the right ear.
When authorities arrived at the scene they witnessed Cantun’s van on the edge of the northern side of the roundabout facing an easterly direction, with its right front tire completely off, its front windshield completely shattered, and the roof extensively damaged.
Cantun, Mendez, and Tamay were taken to the Northern Regional Hospital where they were officially pronounced dead.
Since the roundabout was completed in 2005, a number of road traffic accidents have occurred there. Orangewalkenos believe that this latest one is a result of poor visibility of traffic signs in a pitch-black area. However, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Development, and Housing said that the signs were installed in December of last year and the accident was caused by the van running over the splitter island.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted on the bodies of the deceased persons as the police investigation continues.