… But PG man succumbs after being hit by bus

And while a Belize City man is in critical condition, a Guatemalan national lost his life and a three year old boy is recovering after a weekend traffic accident on the Southern Highway. The incident happened shortly after six o’clock between miles fourteen and fifteen and claimed the life of thirty seven year old Juan Alberto Santiago Vasquez, who resided nearby at the Maya Centre community. When police arrived at the scene last Friday they saw Santiago’s three year old son, Manuel Santiago Moriente, a short distance away from his father’s body. The child had a broken left leg. Police found out that Santiago and his son were on a bicycle heading towards Punta Gorda when they were hit by a school bus that was located three hours later in the same village. The alleged driver, twenty seven year old Rufino Pop, of Maya Centre, has been charged with Manslaughter, Driving without Due Care and Attention, Failing to Stop and Render Aid, and Failure to Report an Accident. Police took a urine sample from Pop on suspicion that he was driving under the influence of alcohol. A young woman from the village has also reported that the bus hit her about an hour earlier. She fortunately suffered only minor injuries, and managed to get the license plates before the driver moved on.