Elderly Man Killed in Hit & Run in Orange Walk

The family of seventy-four-year-old Romaldo Che is mourning his death after a driver knocked down the elderly farmhand and did not stop to render any assistance. The fatal road traffic accident occurred on Sunday night around nine-thirty on the San Estevan Road in Orange Walk Town. Reports are that even as Che was struck, the vehicle dragged him several yards and still did not stop. An investigation is underway, but the driver has evaded the police. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.

Duane Moody, Reporting

It was a most tragic way to die – seventy-four-year-old Romaldo Che was riding his bicycle on Sunday night on the San Estevan Road, in Orange Walk Town, when he was knocked down and his body dragged about five hundred feet. Gloria Mesh, one of ten children, had the daunting task of identifying her father’s body.

Gloria Mesh, Daughter of Deceased

Gloria Mesh

“Last night I get the news. My niece sent me a message on what happened and it was an impact on me to get a news like that to find out that my dad died in a tragedy like that.”

Che was the farmhand at a property near the Orange Walk bypass and was reportedly heading to the place he called home when he was struck head on. He was discovered upside down with a fractured skull, fracture left hand and a large open wound on the left side of his back.

Gloria Mesh

“He does not live here at the village; he lives in Orange Walk at the Petville area. He would come and visit me every time, on Sunday’s especially.”

Duane Moody

“They said he was riding his bicycle when a vehicle knocked him down and dragged him, neva even stop.”

Gloria Mesh

“Yes. That’s the information I get from the police in Orange Walk. That was a really…I can’t explain how that could have happened. Somebody driving and you knock someone like that; it has to be someone that has alcohol in thier system to do something like that. I mean that driver should know what happened. I believe they should know what transpired on that specific time and day. If you are a driver and if you are driving and you knock something you would know.”

Mesh says that her father was a fun-loving guy that always greeted them with the phrase “peace and love”.

Gloria Mesh

“We normally sit down and talk. He come and visit me and we talk about what he is doing; he asks me about me here too. He’s always jovial to me. We run a lot of jokes when he comes here and we talk a lot of fun things and he likes to run jokes with me and I am that type of person with him.”

Mesh is not too optimistic about getting justice for her father’s death.

Gloria Mesh

“Hit and run accident happens, nothing gets done. It’s just like that. I heard it happen to many families out there that people get knocked down and nothing is done. And I know the person that is watching me there, he know exactly what happened. He knows and it is sad. They are very careless drivers out there and remember there are people there that have families too.”

Duane Moody for News Five.