Bicyclist knocked down, but who is at fault?
There are two versions to an accident that occurred in Belize City on Saturday night at eight p.m. near Everyday Restaurant. Eyewitnesses say that the victim may have been the cause of the accident but the family of Harry Zelaya disagrees. Zelaya who was on a bicycle was knocked down and remains hospitalized tonight. Zelaya’s parents are having difficulty finding out how the accident occurred and they also say that two days later the police department has not taken a statement from the victim.
Voice of: Driver
“I was heading down the Northern Highway when I saw a forerunner in front
of me that made a sudden movement but I didn’t know what it was or what was the reason for his movement. Then I just kept on driving not knowing I hit something, and that was practically what happened.”
Voice of: Eyewitness
“I was going home—I live in Sandhill—and upon arriving on the area, we saw a gentleman lying on the road. Me and my husband pulled over to render aid. Therefore, we saw a white forerunner coming and when we saw that forerunner coming, the forerunner cut away from the person that was on the road. Right behind that forerunner there was a car coming and that car ran over the person and took him about two hundred yards from where he was lying.”
Isani Cayetano
“At the point where you saw this vehicle run this young man over, what was your immediate reaction to that particular incident?”
Voice of: Eyewitness
“Well, actually what I did, I picked up my phone and called 911. I spoke to a girl and gave her all the information and I asked her if there is any way police can assist out there and they came. Actually, I thought the person was dead. I’ll be real with you.”
yvonne guerrero
Yvonne Guerrero, Mother of Accident Victim.
“They say my son was drunk. Now, even if the person drunk you have respect their life and if you drive you have to be responsible and respect human life.”
Jose Sanchez
“Is it possible that if he was drunk and lying on the road that a vehicle could have just ran over his foot and not be aware that he was there? Is it possible?”
Victor Guerrero, Brother of Accident Victim
“Yes, it’s possible because you can’t survive if two vehicle pass over you.”
Jose Sanchez
“But at least did one person come and assist afterwards?”
Victor Guerrero
“Yeah, one person come but dis dah di person, dis dah di security; he seh and so many people seh too dat vehicle knock my brother. But he seh no, he mi deh pan di street. Only he seh dat, so many people seh those vehicles knock ah because he was going to Benny’s Apartment and he tried to cross the street. So when he cross di street he si di vehicle coming and knock he and he tumble maybe ten or twenty feet ova di car.”
Jose Sanchez
“What is the condition of your son at this time?”
Yvonne Guerrero
victor guerrero
“Right now ih deh inna delicate situation. He got trauma on the head and he have fracture in the right leg and ih hand too and ih got cut; about five cuts in different parts of the body and ih scratch up dah different parts of di body. Even dah di tongue he get bruised. So I seh what kind of thing he doing and she seh she drive slow and only driving at forty mile. If ih drive at forty miles ih have enough…”
Victor Guerrero
“Ih could stop. Ih noh even mi wah knock him down again.”
Jose Sanchez
“So what is it that you want to get across with this interview?”
Victor Guerrero
“Well I want to go to the media fi mek di people know because di policeman he noh want tek mi arrangement fi mek me do di report. He seh because di Spanish people saw everything, the accident. Di policeman seh he can’t talk English, he can’t do di report. So he tell me come in todeh and we could do di report. Still we come in and he noh want do di report because di policeman weh speak Spanish, he noh di yah right now. So I come to di media fi mek dehn know and den di family mek ih try to help di people, mek ih pay di hospital.”
Someone did stop people & if the man was drunk & lying in the road before he got run over, he is at minimum partially responsible, no one expects to find anyone lying in the middle of a highway. A good drunk goes to sleep in his own bed, a bad drunk falls in the drain or somebody’s muddy yard. At least he survived this binge.
No Spanish speaking police, someone is lying!
people always try put the police bad there are so many spanish speaking police in Belize City and by the ways wen you drive in Belize City and around people ride bike like they own the … road and wen u blow them they get more vex and mad than you. y was he on the road for the fist place stop blaming people and the police for your problems try fix them if u cant then who do you expect to fix them for you the police?? the Govenment?? ha ha ha come on
Thank God he survived the accident….. It should be taken as a warning.
people in bze drive like mad people like they mad with the world or with every one when they driveing.they need to slow down.
Drivers in Belize need to respect Bicyclist.
I must agree with Mr.OK Belizeans don’t give a hoot about motor vehicles. Roads for motorists and road shoulders for pedestrians but NO the pedestrians walk out into the road like cattle with no brain in their heads. Pedestrians expect motorists to be psychic and know when they are going to do something like…let’s say…CROSS THE ROAD IN THE MIDDLE OF MOVING TRAFFIC. How dumb can you be to not realize you’re putting your life at risk? or is your life not worth anything anymore? The only unfortunate thing when they do this type of nonsense it’s the motorist at fault eventhough the fool you hit was JAYWALKING. There should be a law against that to also protect the rights of motorists.
BZNinCALI: The man benn drunk doesn’t change the fact that a crime was committed.
BZNinCALI: The man being drunk doesn’t change the fact that a crime was committed.
i think this person mi di chase the vehicle on his beach cruiser and got a blown out front tire and lost control of his bicycle and then the fool da back ran him over and since police first aid kit only have band aid in it they couldnt do nothing for poor celaya and i think he had a case of eating a bad cat cause his tongue was also swollen but that wasnt from the accident why he runnin on the freeway with bike.thats why i miss the days with mule and cart nobody ever got knock down the worse that could have happen to u was maybe the menonites upstart horse buzz wa …. on ur feet
I agree totally with MR. O.K that all the time you see people riding in the middle of the street like they own the stret and if you blow your horn they cus yu up. with lots of repect to all colored people but majority of this typical riding are colored guys with the pants half way. it really looks bad for the city and also very dangerous for drivers when people with no brain seems to feel that they own the street. hope they get my point i’m not being racial but it’s the truth. i’ve seen this things in cayo and in the city and maybe in other towns.
Elgin,
Considering the time of day, it is possible that the driver did not know he ran over a human being. We expect speed bumps, potholes, an occasional stray dog but not a man lying down in the middle of the highway. Even if the driver now knows that he ran over someone & comes forward, no jury with common sense will convict him of hit & run. This may be an expensive lesson for this drunk but he & his family will have to get over it.