Coast Guard involvement in accident was to recover vehicle

Sunday morning’s accident on the Northern Highway ended the life of Kendra Smith Flowers. Smith, a newlywed, along with her husband of five months, were on their way from Los Lagos to Belize City to visit family when the vehicle veered off the road and into the Belize River. That happened at ten a.m., and minutes later, Stephanie Lupp, a passing driver, jumped into the water and helped Odway Flowers reach the bank of the river. Unfortunately, Kendra, was still trapped inside as the vehicle plunged into the turbid and murky waters thirty feet down. There were crowds of spectators who showed up after the incident. Though no one was present to witness the accident, there was plenty of wild speculation about what happened inside the vehicle. There was also plenty criticism on the performance of the Belize Coast Guard. This afternoon Lieutenant Greg Soberanis of the Belize Coast Guard explained that when they got the call to respond, it was for a recovery operation, since the vehicle and its passenger were under water for an hour.

Lt. Greg Soberanis, Operations Officer, Belize Coast Guard
“It was just after ten Sunday morning. Coast Guard Operations Officer received a call that a vehicle had run off the road and was in the Belize River and there were people in the water. That was the initial call that we received. A vessel was deployed with life jackets to assist persons that we believed were in the water at the time. Shortly thereafter, I arrived on the scene and spoke with the officer who was on the scene and it was then that I was informed that it was a white Toyota 4-runner that had submerged with one person trapped inside. I was then informed that the vehicle and person were submerged for almost an hour. It was then that we assessed the situation and realized that it was no longer a rescue effort, but a recovery effort being that after fifteen minutes being submerged in the water, the possibility of a person surviving is basically nil. Visibility during the flooding of the river at this time is nil. We also knew that there are many underwater debris that is below the surface and so we had to take into consideration the safety of divers that would be conducting the recovery operation at that time.”

Jose Sanchez
“A lot of spectators were out there watching the event. They don’t understand what was happening but there were assumptions that the Coast Guard didn’t have tanks or they did have air in their tanks. What’s the truth?”

Lt. Greg Soberanis
“I can tell you, Mr. Sanchez, that that is false as it is part of our operational requirement for us to maintain a state of readiness. So that is totally false. Upon learning of the incident and what was transpiring, the commandant was informed and immediately coordination began taking place to garner assistance from supporting agencies to recover the body and the vehicle as quickly as possible.”

Jose Sanchez
“So you had tanks that were working on the scene.”

Lt. Greg Soberanis
“We had tanks and equipment that were working. In fact, the first dive team that went down, it was our tanks and BCD’s that were utilized to conduct the first dive.”

Jose Sanchez
“Do you think Mrs. Steffie Lupp, the woman who jumped into the water to take out Odway, do you think she put her life at risk for being heroic?”

Lt. Greg Soberanis
“Definitely and I applaud her for her effort. That was definitely a noble effort and I’m sure she knew the risk that was involved and that was overlooked because I was made to understand she saw the vehicle go in and she made a heroic effort to try and save the person who was inside that vehicle. So I applaud her for the effort that she made.”

Lieutenant Soberanis says that on Sunday the Coast Guard also responded to two other distress calls on the seas.