So, that makes four cruise tourists who have lost their lives on Belizean highways in just 24 hours - just as the cruise tourism season is starting.
Yesterday's accident is the worst one was can find in our archives: 7 dead and 10 injured after a head on collision between an SUV and a tourist van. It happened between miles 18 and 19 just after 3:00. Â
Last night it was 6 dead, but one more person died today, a tourist whose name has not been released. Of those injured, 3 are reported to be critical and the others with a variety of injuries - a few of whom have been treated and released. Â
So, to sum it all up, 4 Belizeans - 3 from Belmopan and one from the city, died, and three cruise tourists, at least two of them women - are dead.
Folks, this is a tough one - a truly terrible accident - completely devastating for the families, and also surely going to cause major losses in the already depressed cruise tourism sector. Â
But, that hardly matters for the families - and tonight you'll hear from them. But first, Cherisse Halsall tells us what happened on the road yesterday - starting with the reason the Wade family from Belmopan was in Belize City:
Yesterday Justin Wade graduated as a new recruit of the Belize Coast Guard. Justin follows the example of his father who had ascended to one of the highest ranks in the Police Department.
Justin's fiance, Myra Alcoser, his father Eduardo and sister, Lourdes Wade Hall came down to Belize City for the happy and proud occasion.
Yesterday afternoon after the conclusion of the ceremony they were returning to Belmopan, but at mile 18 one of the worst tragedies our roadways have witnessed would unfold.
Police laid out details of the scene this afternoon.
Supt. Alejandro Cowo - OC, CIB Belize City
"The driver of one of the vehicles Ms. Lourdes Wade, she was driving en route to Belmopan and the other vehicle was coming from Belmopan towards Belize City when there was a head on collision. As a result of that multiple fatalities up to now we have that seven people passed away 4 of them being Belizean nationals and three are foreigners. Several persons are still hospitalised at the KHMH which are mostly foreign nationals. Those who are admitted at this moment are in a stable condition. I know one of them was airlifted this morning to the U.S."
The deceased are 4 Belizeans: Lourdes Wade Hall, Eduardo Wade, Mayra Alcoser who were all in the Chevy Trax SUV and Errol Belisle who was driving the Dog Van, and 3 of his tourist passengers, Americans including 53 year old Jaqueline Abad, 51 year old Sara Armijo, and another individual as yet unnamed.
And while the scale and magnitude of the accident has captured the nation's attention and sympathy for these families the head on collision was not just a road tragedy, but an earth shattering catastrophe.
Lourdes was only in Belize on a visit. She lived in the US with her husband and young sons. Her husband got the news moments after the accident in a panic and in tears he called his father Cliffton Hall Sr. in Belize begging him to go to the scene of the accident. That father courageously spoke to us in the immediate aftermath, still in shock; he told us that Lourdes was beloved.
Cliffton Hall - Relative of the deceased
"My son whose wife was in the red vehicle she died. He call me from the States. I don't know how he heard so quickly. We came down here to see what it was all about."
Reporter
"How long after the accident did you start driving?"
Cliffton Hall
"As soon as I heard, like maybe 10 minutes and we got here and we saw three bodies in the truck there, they took away the three bodies. Her name is Lourdes Wade Hall, her father is Ex-Assistant commissioner of police Eduardo Wade. They were coming from an event."
Cherisse Halsall
"Did your daughter in have any children?"
Cliffton Hall
"Yes, 2 sons, they are in the states with their dad."
Cherisse Halsall
"Can you tell us what kind of person she was?"
Cliffton Hall
"She was a very nice girl, very pleasant. She works at Social Security. No problem with her, she was very nice."
Cherisse Halsall
"In the aftermath of this, how do you think the family is handling this tragedy?"
Cliffton Hall
"No, the biggest one her, father he also died."
Many of the family members we contacted could not speak to honour the memory of their loved ones at this time, but tour guide John Pollard spoke to us about his colleague Errol Belisle, who he called a fellow black brother that once needed a break and who proved himself tenfold.
John Pollard - Representative, Big John Tours
"He was a very nice person, when you have anything to get done he goes and he delivers. Always comes back on time. I met Errol 15 years ago, Errol came to Belize from the United States and that's when I met him and he came out here and he asked me if he could join Big John Tours and without any hesitation, he's a black brother like myself and I took him in and from then until his death yesterday, he was still my friend. In my view, Errol put his life on the line yesterday because for that accident, if you noticed, Errol took the full blow on his side instead of putting the blow on the other wise where the tourists were. Unfortunately, the incident ended up how it did and he ended up paying that price for putting his life on the line for them."Â
And while the wreckage haunts these family and friends, the question remains what caused the accident?
Supt. Alejandro Cowo
"Well it is something that the investigators are still out there determining what exactly lead to the accident and who is at fault, I know that we have a suspected driver and also the driver of the other motor vehicle passed away so it is something that we are still looking to see how we will deal with that situation."
Notably, Errol Belisle, the 67 year old driver of the gray Dodge van had been charged for knocking down and killing 11 year old Austin Olivera Jr. in 2015. We are told he appeared in Supreme court yesterday for an adjournment in this case. Very initial indications are that the SUV was in his lane as it was overtaking another vehicle.Â
The US Embassy said today that it is providing support to the U.S. citizen victims and their families. A statement adds, quote, "On this day of Thanksgiving, we are reminded by this tragedy how grateful we all must be for our lives and families in every moment." News stations out of Houston quote Carnival Cruise Line in reporting that one of the tourists has been flown to the US for treatment, and 4 others remain hospitalized here.
