Tomorrow will make it one week since that terrible boat collision happened in the Crooked Tree Lagoon. It cost the loss of one life, 20 year old Ben Gentle, but nine other were injured. Two of them, a 14 and a 15 year old are still in the hospital recovering. Monica Bodden spoke to them today about their medical situation and their recollection of that terrible morning:..
Monica Bodden reporting
It's exactly one week since the fatal boat collision in Crooked Tree Village. It has left an entire community traumatized and some of its victims are still hospitalized.
Today I visited 2 of the youngsters at the KHMH Surgical ward.
Monica Bodden
"Alita, tell me how are you doing today?"
Alita Garbutt - Accident Victim
"Good, not bad, only some shocks on my foot."
Monica Bodden
"Tell me a little bit about your injuries?"
Alita Garbutt - Accident Victim
"I got 2 cuts on the bottom and my foot is broken in 2 areas, so they have to work on it when the wound gets better."
15 year old Alita Garbutt - was one of the 11 persons on the boat that morning. Today she recalled the entire incident - moment by moment.
Alita Garbutt - Accident Victim
"We were in the small boat coming and the big boat was coming also. All I saw was the boat coming and I know they usually swing from each other. Any of the boats didn't have any light and I saw the boat came upon us and I jumped to the bottom and my feet were up and so I got cut."
Monica Bodden
"Could you tell me the reaction on the boat? What was it like?"
Alita Garbutt - Accident Victim
"I got hit in my head and when I got up I saw everyone crying and they say that they got hurt. I saw two persons in the boat lying in blood and water, they were Gabriel and Ben and I didn't know what was wrong with them. They put all of us into the big boat to transfer us across. I saw Ben in Shawn hands and they put her out of the big boat into another small boat to take us across, then Ben drop to the floor where I saw a big hole to his side and to the upper shoulder and he was all cut up and his clothes was gone."
Monica Bodden
"It must have been terrifying for you?"
Alita Garbutt - Accident Victim
"Yes ma'am."
Monica Bodden
"What part of the boat were you seated?"
Alita Garbutt - Accident Victim
"I was at the back with the coast guard."
14 year old Gabriel Mejia was also on the boat. So far he has undergone 2 surgeries on his left foot.
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"My foot just hurts a little bit not that much."
Monica Bodden
"What kind of injuries you received?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"A big would - like the propeller just cut out a big piece of flesh onto the bone. They say that my bone is crack, I will be able to walk again."
Monica Bodden
"A lot of pain?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"A little."
Monica Bodden
"You remember that morning?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"Some of it."
Monica Bodden
"What do you remember?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"The big boat was coming fast, but I knew that something would have happen because even if it wouldn't have hit us, it would have just fly past and the wave at the back would like turn us over. But then when it was reaching us it cuts in and actually flew over us and the propeller cut us. They say that it was the fiberglass, but the fiberglass would never do something like that."
Monica Bodden
"You were seated by the young man who died right?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"Infront of him, because I was on the bow and he was like on the first eat and I was in front of him."
Monica Bodden
"After the boat collided into you guys, what next?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"I fell on the ground and I couldn't feel from my waist down. I couldn't feel anything on this leg. Then my friend told me to get up and I told him I can't get up and then he help me up and put me on the seat and then we went into the big boat and then after that we went into another and then onto the pier to meet the ambulance."
Monica Bodden
"Ben was talking at all?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"He wasn't talking, he was making some movements like jumping, only his nerves was alive, he wasn't alive."
Monica Bidden
"It must have been frightening for you?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"I was scared but not that much. But when it hit us then I got scared."
Monica Bodden
"Do you have nightmares about what happened?"
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"No ma'am."
Monica Bodden
"You are glad to be alive."
Gabriel Mejia, Jr - Accident Victim
"Bless to be alive."
Both teenagers families are desperately asking for some financial assistance from the public to help with the minors' medical expenses.
Gabriel Mejia, Sr - Father of Gabriel Mejia, Jr
"Yesterday Ms. Ava Tillett from Crooked Tree came and gave my son mother US$50 and Ms. Dorla US$50 and this money came from the States. It's no one from here in Belize. Every day here we are spending money, to have someone in the hospital it's not water - you got to be spending. Its not like I want something, I just need somebody to help us. We don't want they tell us that they are sorry, no. We need help somehow because the kid needs this and that. We need to live and also I am losing a lot of time from my job. From Friday I am not working - nothing is coming in, but I am taking care of my little boy."
Dorla Wade - Mother of Alita Garbutt
"I am like a single mother, so it is a problem."
Monica Bodden
"You need help financially?"
Dorla Wade - Mother of Alita Garbutt
"Yeah."
If you would like to assist both families, you can call telephone number 6-2-0-7-7-8-5.
