N.I.P. Pending for Driver in Deadly Sand Hill R.T.A.
The families of three men who lost their lives in a deadly head-on collision on the Philip Goldson Highway on Tuesday morning are still reeling from the tragic road traffic accident. As we reported, a commuter bus traveling in the direction of Orange Walk crashed into a pickup truck driven by fifty-nine-year-old James Dawson. Traveling with him were Brandon Gillett and Eustace Dawson Junior. The men were en route to Belmopan where they were scheduled to meet with Belize Rural North Area Representative Marconi Leal Senior at the Lands Department. Dawson and Gillett, the recently elected chairman of Crooked Tree Village, died on impact, while Eustace Dawson Junior had to be freed from the mangled wreck using the Jaws of Life. Police investigations reveal that sometime around 8:15 a.m., a Silva’s bus driven at the time by twenty-one-year-old Joel Disus of Guinea Grass Village was traveling north. Upon reaching near mile seventeen, a vehicle suddenly stopped in front of him. He swerved to the left of the road where he collided with the pickup truck. At the scene of the accident, News Five spoke with a passenger onboard the Silva’s bus. He told us that a taxi suddenly stopped on the highway to discharge passengers.
Shedrack Woodye
Shedrack Woodye, Passenger on Silva’s Bus
“The taxi stopped in front of us to take off some people. It was sudden stop right, so the brethren, he couldn’t have stopped at the time so what he had to do was haul on the next side. But now, when we hauled on the next side we saw another car coming which was that one. And now, the driver from the bus, he cut off the road, but at the same time the car which was coming in the opposite direction did the same thing, he cut off into us, you know. We were the ones who came off first, he should have stayed on the road. If he stayed on the road, maybe he got jumpy, that was the reason why he followed us.”
Duane Moody
“Let’s talk about the impact. It was obvious that it was bad, you could see it’s bad, three persons died.”
Shedrack Woodye
“It’s really rough mein. It’s really rough, I’m sorry for them but mein, in this life, when you’re in this third world country your mind is not clicking too well. But the driver was very focused, very focused on what was happening because as he saw the car he immediately ran off the road.”
Duane Moody
“Anybody from the bus got hurt?”
Shedrack Woodye
“Just the bus driver got a couple injuries and the conductor.”
Duane Moody
“For you, how was the experience?”
Shedrack Woodye
“Mein, I was just waking up and the experience was like something bad happened to me too mein.”
Duane Moody
“You were traveling from the city to where?”
Shedrack Woodye
“I was going to Orange Walk.”
