9 Dead in Separate Incidents Over the Weekend

Nine people lost their lives over the weekend in tragic incidents across the country.

Tragedy in the South

The first incident occurred on Friday night on the Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway between the villages of Elridgeville and Jacintoville. It was a vehicular collision. Three people, a man and his two minor children, died in the collision, which involved a Ford F350 driven by forty-three-year-old Emilio Lizama and a Toyota pickup driven by fifty-one-year-old Jose Tush. According to police, Lizama’s truck collided with the Toyota after another vehicle attempted to overtake a motorcycle and hit the front end of Lizama’s vehicle.

The victims include seventeen-year-old Renieta Tush, who was thrown to the shoulder of the highway and died on the scene; her father, Jose Tush, who died behind the wheel; and five-year-old Michael Tush, who succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

Other passengers, including thirteen-year-old Nathan Pop, ten-year-old Maki Pop, Eric Teul, twenty-nine-year-old Catherine Salam, three-year-old Kadira Tush, and eight-year-old Kailyn Tush, were injured and treated at Punta Gorda Hospital. A urine sample was taken from Emilio Lizama, and a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) was served.

Four Dead in Orange Walk RTA

The second fatal traffic incident occurred on Sunday morning, and it claimed four lives. The victims have been identified as forty-one-year-old Cecilio De Jesus Arana from Orange Walk Town, thirty-seven-year-old Gustavo Chi, Angelita Chi, and an unidentified male. The collision occurred at around 6:40 a.m. between miles forty-five and forty-six on the Philip Goldson Highway. The grey Mitsubishi Montero Sport, driven by Arana, was found on the right-hand side of the highway. Arana was discovered motionless in the driver’s seat, while a Hispanic male passenger, suffering from facial cuts, was trapped in the front seat. Police Constable Andy Garcia was in the back seat with a broken right foot and facial cuts.

A black Pontiac Vibe SUV, driven by Jesus Chi, a teacher from Palmar Village, was located with severe front-end damage. Chi was trapped behind the steering wheel with large cut wounds to both knees. Gustavo was found motionless in the front passenger seat, and Angelita was lying face-up on the pavement near the vehicle with a severe injury. Initial investigations revealed that the grey Mitsubishi was travelling towards Belize City while the black Pontiac was heading in the opposite direction. The Pontiac lost control and collided head-on with the Mitsubishi.

Did Both Men Drowned?

On Sunday morning, Burley Thompson Jr.’s body was recovered from the Macal River in San Ignacio Town. Police responded to a call at the riverbank, where his body was discovered shortly after 11:00 a.m. Thompson was last seen leaving Princess Casino around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, walking downhill near the San Ignacio Hotel. His family had sought public assistance in locating him after he went missing. A post-mortem examination is scheduled as part of the ongoing investigation.

In a separate incident in Ladyville, a man’s body was retrieved from the waters near the marina in the Vista Del Mar area on Saturday afternoon around one o’clock.