Carlos Panti Succumbs in Vehicle Flip on Western Highway

Carlos Panti

A tour guide and a father of three from the Cayo area perished in a road fatality over the weekend. Carlos Panti, who was well established in the tourism industry, was travelling alone when he lost control of his vehicle at the start of a hectic tour day.  In so doing, Panti was violently flung out of the Isuzu SUV and lost his life. News Five’s Duane Moody speaks to his family about the loss of one of their own.

Duane Moody, Reporting

Well-known tour operator from the west, Carlos Panti, lost his life in a traffic mishap on Sunday morning on the George Price Highway. Around five a.m., the forty-seven-year-old was en route to San Ignacio from his home in Succotz, where he was to prepare for a busy day of tours. Upon reaching near Log Cabin Resort, he lost control of the SUV he was driving. The Isuzu Trooper flipped several times; Panti was flung from the vehicle to his death.

Eddie Panti, Brother of Deceased

“Everybody was really surprised; a lot of friends, my sisters –we have five sisters—we are really in shock. And he has his wife with three beautiful daughters who he loves a lot, very much. So it was a shock for us and we are dealing with it; slowly we are dealing with it.”

Today, a post-mortem examination was conducted on the body of Carlos at the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan before he was laid to rest in Succotz. His brother, Eddie says that he received the call about the accident around 5:30 and rushed to the scene.

Eddie Panti

Eddie Panti

“When a friend called me at 5:30, I went to see the scene. The police was there and he was already in the pickup and what the police told me is that he was outside of the vehicle. So I think he must have lost control of the vehicle because he was coming from like Benque towards San Ignacio. I don’t really know exactly what time it happened. And then he was taken to the morgue in San Ignacio.”

Carlos was a tour guide for over twenty years and about seven years ago he opened his tour company, Carlos ‘the Caveman’ Tour. The father of three is known primarily for his work at the ATM Caves and Eddie says he’ll be missed by his family, friends and clients.

Eddie Panti

“He has been guiding for over twenty years, which he started as a tour guide working for many companies in that area. And he built up his company; he was a well-respected guide in that area, especially the ATM Cave. The company’s name is Carlos the Caveman Tours which he started about seven years ago. We work sometimes together beucase I am also a guide, but he was more in the ATM cave; he has a lot of passion for that cave. He has done guiding there since 1999, when he started as a guide there.”

Duane Moody for News Five.