_{Photo: Richard Crawford, deceased}

by Charles Gladden

CROOKED TREE VILLAGE, Belize District, Mon. Apr. 22, 2024

Two lives over the weekend in rural Belize as a result of separate road traffic accidents. The victims were identified as Richard Crawford, 58, of Crooked Tree Village, Belize District, and Martin Swift Junior,7.

In the first fatal accident, which occurred early Saturday morning, April 20, Crawford was riding a motorcycle when he collided with a Mazda Tribute driven at the time by Andy Gillett, 33, who was returning home from a social gathering at the time of the incident.

Crawford was flung approximately 100 feet away from his motorcycle and was later transported to the Northern Regional Hospital, but passed away en route to the medical facility.

Gillett handed himself over to police later that day and was charged with manslaughter by negligence, causing death by careless conduct, and driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention.

In the other incident that occurred last night, Sunday, April 21, on the old Nothern Highway between Miles 28 and 29 near Lucky Strike Village, where Martin Swift, who was the driver of the vehicle, and accompanied by several family members as his passengers, managed to cause the vehicle to flip several times with the persons to be injured.

All persons were able to escape unharmed Martin Swift Junior, who perished at the scene, ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander of the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division, told reporters that it is believed that the vehicle was speeding near a curve when the accident occurred.

Swift’s relatives were transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and are expected to make a full recovery.