Caryl Smith Sr. is knocked down and Left for Dead in Sand Hill

Caryl Smith Sr.

Sixty-year-old Caryl Smith Sr. remains hospitalized after being knocked down and left for dead on the Philip Goldson Highway on Wednesday night.  His family was at home celebrating a birthday when they got a call that the Sand Hill resident had been the victim of a hit and run incident. It happened around eight p.m. near a grocery store in the roadside community. An urgent appeal is being made for persons, who may have seen what took place, to come forward with information that may lead to the arrest of the motorist who ran him over. This afternoon, News Five caught up with Araceli Blease at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where her father-in-law is presently admitted to ward.

Araceli Blease

Araceli Blease, Relative of Hit & Run Victim

“Last night, we were celebrating my common-law’s birthday and last night a close family member called my phone so I thought it was him that went to borrow the phone to call and wish him a happy birthday.  But unfortunately, we got the bad news that he got hit, you know, so everything changed right there and so far we don’t know who it is.  So I was trying to ask the public if they saw anything to please come forward, everything will be confidential, you know, because that person needs to be held accountable for what he did.”

Isani Cayetano

“What is the present condition of Mr. Smith?”

Araceli Blease

“Last night he was in an induced coma because of the excessive head trauma that he received and this morning he woke up, thanks to God and he was transferred to Medical Associates for a C.T. Scan because the machine here at the hospital isn’t working. So it looks promising, you know, that he will make it through.”

Isani Cayetano

“What is the police saying, is there an investigation that is being ran to try and determine what happened and perhaps who was behind this hit and run?”

Araceli Blease

“We haven’t gotten any call from the police, nothing, and our full information from myself and my common-law is right there and we haven’t gotten any phone call concerning about the police, if they know anything or if they went through the surveillance camera that’s by the Chinese store where the accident happened.”

Isani Cayetano

“Take us back a bit, so you guys were celebrating a birthday and then you got a call that your father-in-law had gotten injured.  What specifically did the person who called you mention to you, in terms of what they saw?”

Araceli Blease

“The family friend, the close family friend, she called and then she said, “Araceli, you know Smithie just got knocked down.  It was a hit and run and it looks like his body was lying on the ground for a while before a bus from Sand Hill, traveling from Belize City, saw him lying on the ground in a pool of blood, you know, and they were the ones who rendered assistance. They were the ones who were calling police but they didn’t make it on time.”