Elderly couple cheats death in N. Hwy. collision

In recent weeks, traffic accidents on the nation’s highways have claimed too many lives and resulted in thousands of dollars in damage. So when reports of yet another incident on the Northern Highway hit the airwaves, we feared the worse. But as I discovered, tonight two people are alive because they put safety first.

Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
It is clear from the images that seventy-six year old Edmond Young and his eighty-two year old wife survived Wednesday evening’s crash because they were both wearing seatbelts at the time of the impact.

According to our sources, the couple live in the United States but around five-thirty last night they had almost completed the journey from Cozumel, Mexico to Belize City. However at mile seven and half on the Northern Highway, the Youngs’ Ford Taurus collided with a Toyota Prado pulling a flat bed trailer carrying a load of ceramic tiles being driven by Remar’s Public Relations Officer, twenty-four year old Erick Geovanie.

Freelance videographer Brent Toombs and Jon Ramnarace witnessed the accident unfold.

Jon Ramnarace, Eyewitness/First Aid Instructor
“We were coming from distribution up in Corozal, heading down and we were about in front of Williamson Industries when we saw this car started to drift across to the left side of road. I was just about to tell the passenger in my vehicle look at this guy he is going to cause an accident when all of a sudden right around the curve, a Prado was pulling a trailer and like in an instant the car hit the trailer, ripped it directly off the back of the Prado and the trailer was filled with tiles and next thing you know you just see like this explosion of tiles and metal. The car spun right around and it ended up facing Williamson Industries and the trailer which was heading to Ladyville ended up facing Belize City.”

“Well we avoid hitting the car; we came like within six inches away from hitting the car. I mean the guy was lucky. I not sure how much… we would have been maybe slight damage to the vehicle and e being hurt but if I had hit the car the guy would have definitely have been in a worse situation.”

Ramnarace is a first aid instructor with the Belize Red Cross and was first to respond to the injured victims.

Jon Ramnarace
“I yelled at a guy who was coming to stop the traffic coming on and instantly I went to assist the old woman who was in the car, who was in the passenger side, checked her vitals and her reflexes, that kind of stuff, checked and I found out that her hand got hurt; it seemed like a fracture on her hand and also was complaining of leg pains and pains in her chest. The pains in her chest I realized were possibly from the seatbelts which definitely their lives in this case. After that I tried to calm to her down so that she wouldn’t go into shock; tried to relax her in the chair that she was in. And at this point I was trying to also control the crowd because they were shouting to get them out of the car, get them out of the car and I had to be yelling back no, no just leave them there, we’ll make them as comfortable as possible, when the movement is to take place it will be made by the paramedics.”

“The driver of the car, I checked him out and so on and found out that he was pretty much alright but the dash board was sitting on his chest so we got a few guys to get on the car and actually pull the dash board up so that he could be in a more comfortable position as well, move the chair back and had him seated in a more comfortable position. At that point the ambulance had arrived and the police had gotten there so I just turned over the scene.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“One picture we have is of you with the driver lying on the road and I think you kneeling over him. What were you doing at that point.”

Jon Ramnarace
“At that point he was complaining of a pain in his hip so I was going down doing a full body check on him to see if I could feel nay distortions in the body like any bones which may have been jolting out so I could report on to the paramedics so that they could do their treatment.”

The Youngs were rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and tonight are admitted to ward in a stable condition. According to doctors at the K.H.M.H., Ramnarace’s quick response at the scene was a significant factor in the elderly couple’s survival. Today we caught up with Ramnarace during a first aid course to first form students at Excelsior Junior High.

Jon Ramnarace
“It was really important for every one to get their first aid training because I had this feeling of control where I didn’t panic, I knew exactly what to do. And I think that came along with being first air trained whereas you know exactly what to do, you don’t panic and so you know that you have to assist these people and what you need to do to assist these people and what you need to do hand over these people to the proper authorities.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“And this is the same kind of lessons you’ve been giving this morning to the students?”

Jon Ramnarace
“…to the students this morning and they’ve been learning very well, very smart kids.”

Fifteen year old Tiffara Grant seemed to have mastered the skill even though it was her first try at C.P.R.

Tiffara Grant, 15 years old
“Well a bit nervous but afterwards it was easy. And the difficult thing was when you were trying to press on the person’s chest and it was a bit hard when to give them the oxygen in their mouth.”

Grant says while she does not know if one day she will be able in a position like Ramnarace to help someone in need, she is getting prepared.

Tiffara Grant
“Well I think it is important because even if it’s not on the street but if it is in your house you can also help and you fell better that you can help someone.”

Wednesday night’s traffic accident held up traffic for over an hour as authorities measured and photographed the scene before cleaning up the broken ceramic tiles that had scattered all over the highway.