C-2884 - police say that is the license plate number of the car that ran over and killed a young man on a scooter early Saturday morning in Belize City. 23-year-old Jerry Romero who worked as a payroll clerk in the office at CP Buildings was killed and tonight the driver of that car is a fugitive. And the fact that there are no answers, just death, has left his family bereaved but not bereft of the hope that the driver will be found. Keith Swift reports.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This wrecked scooter is what 23-year-old Jerry Romero was riding at 1:30 am on Saturday when he was fatally hit. Jerry's sister in-law Pauline Romero says he had just dropped a friend home and was heading back to the Princess Hotel to pick up another friend when the accident occurred.
Paul Rodriquez-Romero,
"He was coming up Cemetery Road crossing over Pound Yard Bridge to go into Orange Street, which you know is a right of way, and he was going back to the Princess to pick up his friend when a vehicle was coming along the East Collet Canal from the direction of Malic's and just slammed into his scooter."
The scooter was totaled and jerry was critically wounded. He died a few hours later. The driver who hit Jerry fled the scene and that is what brings both anger and tears to Jerry's older brother Frank.
Frank Romero, Brother of Deceased
"You just hope that the person who was in the accident, the collision
with my brother would have stopped and rendered aid and just probably, he probably would have just had a little chance of surviving. This is what is the grief, the hurt - that a young life has been taken away so selfishly."
The family is pleading to the driver who is responsible to please turn him or herself in.
Paul Rodriquez-Romero,
"Its two days almost and this person still has not taken the responsibility of having being responsible for my brother in law's death and that really hurts. We just want you to take responsibility for your actions. You should have stopped when you crashed into my brother in law. You didn't. We understand but after two days, we cannot comprehend how you can be so cold and not come forward.
If anybody has taken a vehicle, whether its in Belize City or out district, and they are trying to get that vehicle fixed, the damage to that vehicle is terrible. If you see the scooter you will know the type of damage that vehicle sustained. If somebody is trying to cover up, please come forward. Let the police know or call us at 607-5709 or 203-5557."
And even as they search for his killer, Jerry's family says they'll remember him as a 23 year old who loved life. He worked in an office during the day but his true love was art. He did paint on canvass but one of his more creative pieces was this guitar made out of scrap metal.
Paul Rodriquez-Romero,
"He was so talented, he was such a good person. Not because he is my relative I am saying this. He was just a wonderful, kind, loving young man. He was not into drugs, he was not abuser of alcohol. Yes he took his little drink but he was not a drunk. He had no beef with anybody. His death will tell you what type of person he is because he was doing a good deed for a friend when he died. That's the type of person Jerry was and its such a pity that he had to leave us."
And it is maybe through the art he loved so much that jerry foretold his death. He didn't name this piece but he did it in memory of his friend Gary Lanza who died in a traffic accident at 4 am on July 14th of 2006. The artwork is actually made with metal from the accident - and the words - "see you on the other side" now take on new chilling meaning for this grieving family.
Anyone with information can call the family at telephone numbers: 607-5709 or 203-5557. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 0-800-922-TIPS.
Late this evening police located a 1985 gray Ford Escort at a mechanic shop at mile 21 on the Western Highway which they thought may have been involved in the accident. Turns out that vehicle has been parked at the mechanic shop for over a year. It also showed no damage consistent with the impact of Saturday morning's accident. Police now believe the license plate off the parked was stolen and placed on the vehicle involved in the accident. Again the license plate number is c-2884 and police believe it is a gray Ford vehicle.
