Two seriously injured in Stann Creek road accident

The latest in a disturbing series of collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians occurred yesterday in the Stann Creek District. Today, I visited the victims at the K.H.M.H.

Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Forty-four year old Elida Hernandez and nine year old Maria Lopez remain in a serious condition at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after the mother and daughter were knocked down by a vehicle in Alta Vista Village near mile seventeen on the Stann Creek Valley Road. Hernandez says all she remembers is that she felt something hit her from behind.

Elida Hernandez, Accident Victim
“I was walking and then something hit me. I do not know what happened only that the next thing I know I woke up in the hospital. I was walking to a shop when I got knocked. My children four and nine years old were walking in front of me.”

Hernandez suffered head injuries and a broken left hand. Young Lopez also received injuries to the head. The driver has been identified as twenty-seven year old Kenroy Sanchez, who police report was travelling from Steadfast Village to Pomona sometime after two on Wednesday afternoon. Because of their medical condition, Hernandez and Lopez were brought by helicopter to the K.H.M.H. As was the case in several recent knockdowns, Hernandez too is concerned about the speeding that occurs when highways pass through villages.

Elida Hernandez
“I was walking and I did not want to cross the next side, but I was just walking to a shop when I felt the vehicle knock me. All the time vehicles travel very fast through my village and we do not have any speed bumps.”

Sanchez has been detained and is expected to be charged.

Late word from the police is that Sanchez has indeed been charged, with two counts of Negligent Grievous Harm and Driving Without Due Care and Attention.