_{Photo: Polito August, deceased}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Apr. 8, 2024

Two men lost their lives in separate road traffic accidents over the weekend.

The first accident took place on Friday night in Benque Viejo Town, Cayo District. On Friday, April 5, around 7:00 p.m., the deceased, Polito August, was riding a motorcycle on George Price Boulevard in Benque Viejo Town when a Kia Soul, driven at the time by Jimmy Leslie, 38, emerged from Juanito Gongora Street, at an intersection connecting the Boulevard, and collided with August.

When police arrived at the scene they saw the Kia Soul with damages to its front left portion and the motorcycle also with damages; but by the time they arrived, August had already been taken to the San Ignacio Community Hospital and passed away while en route to the hospital.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander of the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division, told reporters on Monday, April 8, that Leslie was served with a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) and was charged with driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, and causing death by careless conduct. He was scheduled to be taken to court later that day.

Additionally, Romero noted that samples of body fluids were taken from Leslie to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred, and the results are still pending.

The other fatal traffic accident took place in front of Public’s Supermarket on Central American Boulevard in Belize City on Sunday morning, April 7, when a male person was hit by a moving car.

The victim succumbed at the scene; however, no report has yet been issued by police, so the identity of the deceased has not been released to the media.