Road accidents mar holiday weekend

Belize’s highways were busy this long Easter weekend as packed up vehicles of every size, shape and age hit the road to vacation spots in all parts of the country. Unfortunately for some, the holiday travelling also brought tragedy. No less than a dozen people had to be hospitalized and at least one was killed in separate traffic accidents on the Northern and Western Highways. On Good Friday afternoon, Guatemalan businessman Rene Perez told police he was driving up the Western Highway when just outside the village of La Democracia, between miles thirty and thirty one, he lost control of his van and overturned. Of the eight people travelling in the vehicle, sixteen year old Christian Perez fared the worst as he was pronounced dead on arrival at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. The others were reported to have suffered head and body injuries, none of which appear to be life threatening. Another accident on the same road, this time on Easter Sunday morning, injured three people. According to Belmopan police they responded to reports of an accident near the Beaver Dam Bridge around four o’clock Sunday morning. A small car had apparently run off the highway and crashed into the back of a vehicle that was parked in a nearby yard. Police say the car was being driven at the time by Steven Coleman and accompanying him were seventeen year old Oretta Evans and twenty three year old Floyd Carter. Coleman received head and body injuries while his companions were also hurt. All three were hospitalized in stable condition in the Belmopan Hospital. The Northern Highway was the scene of the third weekend accident, also on Easter Sunday. Twenty six year old Chin Hsien Lin of Orange Walk was reportedly driving a suburban towards Belize City shortly after mid day when upon reaching between miles twenty two and twenty three, the left front tire blew out. As a result, Lin said he lost control of the vehicle which ran off the road. Lin was accompanied by eleven other people, all of whom save one escaped with only minor bumps and bruises. Twenty two year old Michael Tong received severe head and body injuries including a broken right foot.