Over the years, we've seen all kinds of road traffic accidents, including cars crumpled up like scraps of paper, or wound around trees of lamp-posts like yellow ribbons. But we've never seen one like we saw this weekend: where a car was split into two: the rear of the car was found on the shoulder of the highway, while the front was 50 feet away in a swamp. And while the accident is remarkable, the tragedy is that a teenager died - and the controversy is that the driver had been drinking. Jacqueline Godwin found out what happened.
Ramon Santiago, Father of Deceased
"All I know is I send them out to the fair and I ask the boy to please bring them back by eleven and he didn't. When he did call, its because he told me that my son was dead.
The Santiago family is still in shock following Saturday night's traffic accident that took the life of their son and brother 17 year old Emilio Santiago. This is all that is left of the car the three young students and their driver were traveling in when twenty seven year old Andre Torres lost control of the
vehicle between miles five and six on the Western Highway.
The Mitsubishi Gallant ran off the left hand side of the road, overturned several times before it hit a lamp post. The collision was so great that it tore the car in half. Emilio who was thrown twenty five yards away from the wreck was found lying face up. According to his family the last words he said were please help me.
Ramon Santiago,
"He was thrown out of the vehicle and probably landed on his head and that is what caused him to die because he broke his neck."
Emilio was seated in the back of the car. His younger brother Kyro who was in the front passenger seat complained only of pains in the right hand. Sixteen year old Cherrese Lino suffered two broken arms and remains in the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in a stable condition. As for Torres, he was not harmed.
According to Ramon Santiago he only allowed his sons to go with Torres because he is a family friend who had offered to take the boys to the holy Redeemer Christmas bazaar. Santiago says eh has no idea why his children were outside city limits. Santiago says Torres has since told them that he was heading to the mile 8 community.
Santiago strongly believes the car was going in excess of 80 miles per hour.
Ramon Santiago,
"It is the nature of the accident, that is difficult. I believe if he wasn't driving so fast, he would have avoided it. He was going really fast. I know he was. I know he did not want it to happen. All he told me is, 'I'm sorry Mr. Santiago.' I told him I can't do anything. I mean I can't do anything."
Andre Torres was taken into custody and charged. Meanwhile the Santiago family gets ready to lay to rest their love done who they say wanted to be a chemist and was looking forward to graduating from St. Michael's College in 2008.
Ramon Santiago,
"That was his main goal, that he was taking biology and chemistry from school coming up. He really liked that."
This morning, the 27 year old driver Andre Torres, was arraigned in the Belize City Magistrate's Court. He was charged with negligent grievous harm; manslaughter by negligence, driving without due care and attention; causing death by careless conduct and driving with an alcohol above the prescribed limit. He was offered bail of $5,000 plus two sureties of the same amount, which he met.
