6 are dead and 18 injured after a major collision at mile 35 on the Western Highway at 11:45 this morning. Eyewitnesses say that slippery roads may have led to the collision between a National Transport Bus and a cargo truck. Here's what happened.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
We found police removing two of the 6 dead bodies from the catastrophic collision between this cargo truck and this National Transport Bus.
Maureen Leslie, Deputy Commissioner of Police
"Again I can't confirm the exact amount of fatalities because some people were taken to the hospital in Belmopan but we definitely had four bodies out here."
Four out there and one more died while receiving treatment. The National Transport Bus was traveling west to San Ignacio and the cargo truck was heading towards Belize City. But according to Rene Juarez, who was driving this pickup behind the cargo truck, it had just started to rain. Because of the rain, he kept his distance - and from about 50 yards back saw the accident unfold. He says that the slippery road conditions caused the bus to veer into the lane of oncoming traffic.
Rene Juarez, Eyewitness
"I see the bus like it slid, it slide like this, and then I see the body of the bus went in front of the truck and then I just see people on the road."
Phillip Jones, National Transport
"The driver called me after the accident to call 911 and see how best we can get someone out here to assist because he was in a serious accident. What he told me on the phone is that he was trying to avoid a head on collisions and he swerved off the road, heading towards the Western Highway towards Belmopan and he said that the truck hit him in the side and they had vehicles that were passing and some good samaritans stopped and assisted and took some of the casualties to the Belmopan Hospital."
Roger Munoz was working on fiber optic lines on the side of the road just a short distance away.
Roger Munoz,
"I heard a big bang and when I turned, well I jumped in the back of the truck because I didn't know what happened and I turned and I saw the truck flipping and the bus on the side and a little while after I heard a lot of people crying hurt and then they came out of the bus and it was not a nice scene. That was nothing nice. A lot of people got hurt. Some ladies with their arms broken, bone pushing out; a next one looked like they lost one of their eyes; some people were under the bus. It wasn't anything nice.
Rene Juarez,
"Then I stopped to assist the truck driver because he was shouting for help. So I went to assist him and so I hurt my head and it tried to assist the people from the bus and put them in a pickup and they went to Belmopan. I was calling police but no one answered."
Jules Vasquez,
What did you see Sir? First of all what was happening with the driver of the transport vehicle?
Rene Juarez,
"The truck? He was in between the two chassis. Half of the body was outside and half was inside the truck. He was shouting and I saw his condition so I did something to take it out and I called for help. Some ladies and children were shouting. They couldn't walk, looked like they broke their foot, so I put them in a next pickup and they gone. They got a white man, a white lady, who called for assistance but she couldn't move her body. She was just shouting. It looked like all her ribs were broken and a man were shouting for his children..."
The collision was so massive it launched the engine for the cargo truck across the road - and here's the radiator also on the side of the road. The truck itself is completely smashed. As for the bus, the impact actually caused the metal to shear, crushing the front and the side, twisting the frame, and leaving belongings scattered everywhere. German Vega owned the cargo truck.
German Vega, Truck Owner
"I'm shocked, very shock. I found out that two men sideman who he was bringing died on the spot and he is injured in the Belmopan Hospital."
Phillip Jones,
"Our condolence and our prayers go out to the victims and family. It is a tragedy that happened and we at National, we will try our best to assist the family member that was in the accident with the best of care possible."
Police have not confirmed the names of the dead - only to say that two were from the cargo truck and four were from the bus. They do report that one of the survivors is an 8-year-old boy who suffered serious head injury. Police have confirmed that the passenger bus was being driven by Troy Gillett and the cargo truck by Michael Escalante. They are both alive, but hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Notably, the police report differs from what eyewitness Juarez told us. The report says that Escalante was driving the cargo truck, lost control and collided into the bus. Still, no final determination has been made, and investigations continue.