4 killed in road traffic accident on Christmas Day
Christmas Day, for most Belizeans, is a time to celebrate and show love and appreciation for family. But for four families, the spirit of Christmas may never be the same, as it was the day when their loved ones perished while traveling along the Philip Goldson Highway. A group of four friends, including twenty-two-year-old Hector Gongora, who was visiting from the United States, was killed when the vehicle they were traveling in crashed into a tree near Ladyville. News Five’s Duane Moody has the tragic story.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The spirit of the Christmas season for four families was shattered on Christmas Day when they got word sometime after four-thirty p.m. on Wednesday that their loved ones died in a fatal accident on the Phillip Goldson Highway between miles seven and eight. Driver, twenty-two year old Hector Daniel Gongora was heading to his house in the Lake Gardens Community in Ladyville when, after taking the curve where the Williamson Sewing Factory once stood, he lost control of the Isuzu D-max pickup truck and slammed into a tree on the left side of the highway. Gongora and his three passengers died on impact.
Voice of: ASP Christopher Noble, Rural Executive Officer, Police Department
“Yes there was an accident on the Phillip Goldson Highway in the area of mile seven and eight. We did have response from the police department with very good support from the airport authority personnel rescue unit and the B.D.F. as well as personnel from Belize City. We managed to take four persons that had passed and today the doctor was working and has done all four postmortems. We are continuing to look at what may have caused this incident because there was a high level of violence to this accident.”
Omar Gongora, Father of Accident Victim
“The pickup really, the cabin of the pickup, the top of the pickup knock the two trees and it really sandwich them they really couldn’t take them out like that and they had to call the fire service to cut the top of the pickup to take them out.”
Twenty-year-old Henry Gabriel Reyes, seventeen-year-old Dulce Yanira Cobb and twenty-three-year old Shakir Shamir Monima were traveling along with Gongora and perished in the accident.
Last Friday, Hector returned to Belize from Houston, Texas where he was studying Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology at the University of Houston. He was to return next week but his life was cut short.
Omar Gongora
Omar Gongora
“He and my daughter went out the twenty-fourth and they come back like three, or four the morning and he woke about ten, eleven. He decided to clean my pickup—he and a next guy, a friend of his. I was upstairs and he used the pickup to get his two friends in Belize. And when I ask ih mommy weh di pickup deh? Ih say Daniel gone out. I said okay I will call him to see where he is. And when I called his number, ih didn’t really answer; that was about twenty past four. I ring again and nobody answer. About five minutes after, we get a call from one of my sons and who told him that it seems to be that my pick up run into an accident. I said it only could be my son, but it deh dah eight miles ih tell me. So I tell my wife, hurry let’s go. When we see, the first thing I see it was my plate and I said it’s my pickup. but this is when I see two bodies already out and then I see how dehn take fi he one out and the other guy out.”
According to Rural Executive Officer of the Police Department Assistant Superintendent Christopher Noble, investigations continue into what could have caused the accident.
Voice of: ASP Christopher Noble
“It is a one vehicle accident and that vehicle had some level of impact on a tree off the road. However, to tell you anything else would be very new at this stage because we still don’t know what may or may not have caused the accident. There are several factors that we are looking into and we are going to cover all of them. We are looking at all factors; there may have been some factors that we have so far overlooked that we are still looking into. To say that the road condition may have played a role, I would not be able to say at this stage. That is for us in our investigation to continue to look into.”
Hector Daniel Gongora
For the Gongora family, this is the second son to have perished at a young age. First, the death of eighteen year old Ryan Gongora in 2000 and now, the death of their youngest son, Hector.
Omar Gongora
“In 2000, I lost one of my sons eighteen years old. It is really a shock that you get. I praise the lord that I am really. I am a Christian and he teaches me with wisdom to face the situations like this. So I just bolt myself and go forward; that’s how I take it.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
All four died on the spot. The postmortem results are as follows: Hector Gongora died of severe brain injury; commuted facial and skull fractures. Henry died from traumatic shock syndrome due to chest and abdominal injuries. Dulce Yanira Cobb died of avulsion of head and neck. And Shakir Shamir Monima died from severe head and liver injuries due to the road traffic accident. A funeral service will be held for Hector Gongora on Saturday morning at Divine Mercy Church on the Phillip Goldson Highway.
Of course it was because of the deplorable road conditions in Belize because this ya pm and gov. Have been doing nothing but stealing the gov money that’s why our roads are in such state of disrepair with this gov. And pm nothing but death and destruction is happening in our country now another Canadian killed this’ll is truly the land of death.
but he has the heart to invest 2.3 million dollar to gain political mileage with the Christmas cheer program. He doesnt care how bad our roads are all he cares about is to buy people with a ham and turkey……!! he soon gwen tho. his time is short
Cancel road accidents
Cancel road accidents not hard to do because a similar system currently works in the agricultural sector.
Agricultural system is more complex than necessary to the traffic system.
So you can run the traffic system immediately.
I’m talking about using Precision Farming for Precision Traffic.
Mathematical examination of the passage shows that the Precision traffic less complex than Precision Agriculture from the known rule that in the surface there are infinite lines.
The Precision traffic system educates and instills a driving culture.
Precision traffic system reduces the time length of learning in dimensions of months.
Form of education in the proposed system is similar to addition of hundreds of thousands of traffic policemen.
The system works on the basis of personal mentoring.
Any errant driver will be assigned a “policeman mentor”.
The policeman will be a virtual policeman but will be fully present.
“Big Brother Effect” will be treated thoroughly and virtual cop appears only when the driver goes through.
The privacy of citizens will be preserved carefully. Drivers driving according the law will not be recorded and will not be documented.
I have the unpleasant feeling that we can save thousands of people a year and do not rescuers.
That Related to thousands injured people and considerable financial losses.
Today it is possible to run a small order of tens of vehicles to demonstrate feasibility.
All the tools are exist but are not used.
The system will help to the police identify speeders and it will help law to enforcement and reducing vulnerability to life and property.
This understanding is the educational way that cause to drivers to not breaking the law and operate under the law and the roads conditions.
Precision Traffic based on Precision Farming provides a solution that includes all areas of driving and most important is education drivers.
Precision Traffic Can be used as a Driving Teacher, a Driving guide, as accompanied a driving, as a driving mentor, and policeman and judge . The report would be sent directly to the driver at the address listed at the DMV.
Unfortunately to keep a distance not sufficient a warning, the driver must slow down and increase the distance from the vehicle in front. Maintaining the appropriate distance depends on the will of the driver in another language and education.
No deterrent without punishment!
I’ll go to any place and to any forum to explain the proposed system and answer questions as needing.
Precision Traffic
New approach to traffic management and control of operational use will help the police to enforce traffic offenders and finding all kinds of traffic offenses, here are the details:
Infractions Car – himself:
1 – Not wearing a safety belt.
2 – Low pressure tires.
3 – Not lighting lights.
4 – And more.
Offenses car relation to road:
1 – Speeding.
2 – Failure to comply with a stop sign.
3 – Drive on the white line.
4 – Unauthorized traffic lane.
5 – Failure to comply with traffic lights.
6 – Driving on the traffic island.
7 – Driving on sidewalks.
8 – Stopping the car while interfering traffic flow.
9 – Integration not allowed.
10– Turning not follow the rules the laws.
11– And more.
Car relations offenses – Vehicles: (One to another).
1 – Not maintaining proper distance between vehicles.
2 – Dangerous bypass.
3 – Not to give right of way to integration.
4 – Overtaking on the right.
5 – Sudden stop in a busy road without probable cause.
6 – Hazardous integration to busy road.
7 – And more.
Car relations offenses – car to car and road:
1 – Bypass on crosswalk.
2 – Not being slow sign and give the right of way.
3 – Transition from lane to lane in a busy multi-track road
4 – And more.
Options:
1 – Directing traffic from busy roads to others.
2 – Warning drivers about traffic jams.
3 – Changing of traffic lights according to traffic volume.
4 – Learning behaviors and published global conclusions about
recurring phenomena.
5 – Characterizing typical behaviors and adapting the
infrastructure accordingly.
6 – Study load transportation and disposal conclusions
accordingly.
My thanks in advance for any help in promoting the subject.
E mail: elchanan@agrosif.com
Mobile: 972-50-6241523
Regards,
Elchanan Shochat