Two dead in highway accidents

Traffic accidents on the Western and Northern Highways over the holidays have left two people dead and several others with varying degrees of injuries. On Wednesday evening, a Ford Ranger pickup truck with six passengers in the pan overturned between miles thirty-seven and thirty-eight on the Western Highway. The driver of the vehicle, Edward Gonzalez, told police he was driving towards Belize City when he suffered a blowout and lost control of the vehicle. Killed was twenty-eight year old Justina Maldonado, who suffered massive head injuries and died Thursday at the K.H.M.H. While Gonzalez and passenger Allen Ortega walked away from the wreck, four other passengers: Maritza Ortega, Miriam Castillo, Besi Paula Argueta, and Elida Ortiz were injured.

The second road fatality occurred on Friday night. Twenty-four year old Luis Marin reported to police that he was driving his car from Belama to Belize City around nine-thirty on Friday night when he knocked down thirty-five year old Jose Mauricio Mejia. Mejia, who was riding a bicycle on the Northern Highway, suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at the K.H.M.H. Neither driver has been charged in connection with the two accidents.