Orange Walk Taxi Driver Murdered in Trial Farm

Orange Walk police are investigating the murder of fifty-one-year-old taxi driver Romualdo Vasquez, who was stabbed to death on Wednesday night. The incident happened around 8:30 PM on West San Martin Street, not far from a new police substation in Trial Farm Village. Police are still figuring out the motive and are exploring a few possibilities as they try to find the killer. Meanwhile, the murder has deeply affected his fellow taxi drivers at the bus terminal taxi stand. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.

 

Edward Garnett, Friend of Deceased

“Ih shock mi last night actually. Wa  next taxi driver call mi. I mi done deh eena bed already and the taxi man call mi and seh, “Boy, hear weh happen, such and such incident, noh.”

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Food vendor Edward Garnett and Romualdo Vasquez had been friends for years, but on Wednesday night, that friendship was tragically cut short. This is the fence on West San Martin Street in Trial Farm Village, Orange Walk, where the Volkswagen Jetta driven by Romualdo Vasquez crashed after being stabbed in the throat. The fifty-one-year-old taxi driver was reportedly taking the passenger to a location in the area when he was fatally injured. After being attacked, Vasquez tried to get out of the vehicle but collapsed and died. Today, the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams shared what investigators have learned so far about the incident.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Police were called to this area late last night or early this morning. Upon arrival, they encountered a vehicle that crashed, I think into a building or a tree, and inside the vehicle was the lifeless body of a male person that exhibited stab wounds. The body was taken to the hospital where it was pronounced dead on arrival. Information so far is that the deceased was in the company of some person in the same vehicle and that person may have inflicted the injuries to him and then flee the vehicle and went about his business. So, police are currently actively investigating that matter with a view to see if we’ll be able to identify the person who flee from the vehicle after the incident occurred.”

 

Investigators are uncertain what preempted the fatal stabbing.

 

Chester Williams

“It can either be a case of robbery or a case of maybe two friends arguing. We don’t know who the person is that was in the vehicle with him at the time he escaped. So, we’ll have to find out who that person is that we’ll be able to arrive at a more definitive motive.”

 

Marion Ali

Is anything missing?

 

Chester Williams

“I don’t think so.”

 

Police later found the suspected murder weapon, a stainless-steel knife, after canvassing the area. Edward Garnett told News Five that he thinks the killing might have been a robbery and urged for more surveillance cameras in key areas.

 

Edward Garnett

“Yoh nuh know who da who. Maybe they never get a chance to take the man’s belongings – the lee bit ah money weh ih work hard fa.”

 

Marion Ali

“Do you think it was a robbery?”

 

Edward Garnett

“I believe ih cudda be a robbery because things tough right now, you know, but we need to put some more security out on corners and so like cameras, ih help wa lot.”

 

Garnett said that he counted on Vasquez’s taxi service to transport his food to the bus terminal where they both worked.

 

Edward Garnett

“He da the one weh goh pick up  and do all my runs most of the time when my official taxi man nuh available. He nuh cut his style. He say, “Bwai, let’s go. Sometimes some taxi man will tell him, “Bwai, goh pick up the tamales fi mi. That thing too heavy, I can’t lift it up and put it in the car.” He nuh waste no time. He seh right away, you know, you’re ready fi assist. Da wa very cool guy.”

 

Vasquez was part of the Community Taxi Service, located outside the bus terminal in Orange Walk Town. His colleague, Justin Chan, worked alongside him at the taxi stand. Chan mentioned that they had their differences, but today, the atmosphere at the taxi stand just wasn’t the same.

 

Voice of: Justin Chan, Friend of Deceased

“Yes, we had wi differences eena terminal because we think different noh but we used to care good, good. He used to be a person – he deh deh for his family. Ih lee gial dehn hours you mi wa see ah right ya di feed the baby. One o’clock, he ker ah da school back. I feel fi the lee gial, ih wife and thing, because he da man weh work the last bus ya and then from deh he goh home. We feel it because Mr Vasquez, every day we deh together from eight o’clock to five-thity, six.”

 

Chan mentioned that the murder of his friend has changed the working hours for all the taxi drivers at the terminal because they’re now worried about their safety.

 

Voice of: Justin Chan

“Right now we di try neem work da night. We nuh wa work da night. Wi nuh wa mess wid that because we can’t trust nobody right now. You don’t know who might want to hurt you. So, now we di try to plan. We neem want work da night again. No calls da night. Maybe if da yoh customer weh yoh really trust, yoh maybe do it but somebody who just cll yoh like that, cho.”

 

Edward Garnett shared that just an hour before he was killed, Vasquez gave him some lasting advice.

 

Edward Garnett

“Mi son usually come help mi  lock up shop and soh, soh he said, “Bwai I nuh want she it behind your back, I wa she it right front ah yoh son.” He said, “talk to him, bwai because yoh son ride da bicycle crazy and he could get hurt.” So I tell ah, “Bwai, thanks fi tell me,” right in front ah my son. And I start tell mi son about it, you know, about the bicycle weh he could get hurt, you know, if he ride that bike too wild out deh.”

Marion Ali

“That was the last time you saw him?”

 

Edward Garnett

“Just last night. That’s why it was so shocking to me to hear the news.”

 

Marion Ali for News Five.