A mechanic is dead tonight after he was crushed beneath the wheel of a 30-ton truck he was working on. 49-year-old George Lewis, known to most as "Youth," was working on the truck's engine Saturday morning on Captain Eiley Street in the Coney Drive Area. Keith Swift found out how one small mistake behind the wheel had hugely devastating consequences.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This is the spot, this is the 30 ton 8-wheeler GMC truck, and this is the driver's side wheel that ran over 49 year old George Lewis on Saturday morning crushing him to death. The truck was parked here in this empty lot for repairs to the gear shift, which were being done by Lewis who is a freelance mechanic. The truck's owner Jose Novelo was inside the truck behind the driver's wheel when Lewis asked him to start the truck. He started the engine not knowing the gear was engaged in reverse or that Lewis was underneath. The vehicle lurched backwards sending the driver side wheel over Lewis' mid-section.
Evelyn Andrewin, Mother
"He was fixing a car for somebody. The man called him to do the job and he started to work on the vehicle. Then he told the man to start the engine and the man said he didn't see when he (George Lewis) went under the truck. He said he then heard 'stop the engine, stop the engine,' and when they stopped it and they looked they saw him lay down there."
Lewis was dead within half an hour of being crushed by the 30-ton truck. Today, Novelo who moved back to Belize two weeks ago and was transporting his belongings in the truck declined to comment until the police close their investigation. For her part George Lewis' mom Evelyn Andrewin says she has left it in the hands of the police.
Evelyn Andrewin,
"I take it as it is because I don't know what happened. I won't judge anyone because I wasn't there so I won't judge nobody."
And those who were on the scene Saturday morning say it was just that, a tragic accident, and one in which it'll be hard to assess blame.
Because of the peculiar nature of the case, no charges have been filed and police have forwarded the case file to the DPP for consideration. Novelo moved back to Belize from New York two weeks ago. The cargo truck with his belongings was retrieved from Customs on Friday evening. This incident then happened less than a day later on Saturday morning. Novelo and Lewis are old acquaintances who grew up in the same area.
