Accidents kill three over weekend
This past weekend was deadly on our highways as three persons lost their lives in three separate incidents. The first call came in around two on Saturday afternoon and led Orange Walk police to mile fifty-eight on the Northern Highway. There, authorities observed a blue Geo Prism extensively damaged on the side of the road. The driver was nowhere in sight and authorities were informed that the vehicle’s passenger, identified as forty-nine year old Santiago Castillo of Orange Walk Town, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the Northern Regional Hospital. As for the driver, police say he reportedly fled the scene and they have been trying to determine his identity. A passing motorist who had stopped at the scene earlier told authorities that while he was helping to free the driver from the wreck he was told by the driver that it was the passenger who caused the accident. The motorist says when he told the man to wait at the crash site until the police arrived, the driver suddenly took off into the bush. Police say nearby farmers chased after the man, but he disappeared and was last seen heading in the direction of San Narciso Village. Police say the only injury the driver appeared to have received was a scratch across the forehead. Police say they have also been able to determine that both men were drinking and that the vehicle was speeding at the time of the accident.
As Orange Walk police continue to look for their missing driver, their counterparts in Punta Gorda were making their own investigation. Twenty-four year old Brian Williams, a bus driver for James Bus Lines, told police that around eight Saturday night he was driving a bus on the Southern Highway heading to P.G but upon reaching an area near Indian Creek Village, he saw a man lying in the middle of the road. Williams reported that he tried to avoid hitting the man, later identified as twenty-five year old Francisco Che, but was unsuccessful. Che, who is a resident of Hicatee Village in the Toledo District, died on the spot.
The last fatality occurred early Sunday morning. Around four a.m. Corozal police were called out to mile eighty-two on the Northern Highway where they saw a red Mitsubishi and a Ford Explorer. At the crash site police discovered that the driver of the Mitsubishi, who was travelling towards Corozal Town, lost control and collided into the Explorer that was travelling in the opposite direction. While no one in the Explorer received injuries, Twenty-four year old Karla Wade, a passenger in the Mitsubishi, was thrown from the vehicle. Wade, a resident of Calcutta Village, was dead on arrival at the Corozal Hospital. In both Northern Highway fatalities, the victims were not wearing seatbelts.
