There was a fatal traffic accident on Saturday night on the George Price Highway between miles 44 and 45. The victim is 40-year-old Rhonda Burgess, a resident of Lavender Street in Belize City.
At around 6:20 p.m., Burgess was inside a Chevy Equinox SUV, traveling with several of her family members, which included her common-law husband, Eric Tillett, 2 other adults, and two children.
The family was heading to Belmopan when the driver tried to overtake a cane truck. One of the survivors of the accident told 7News that the driver had to guide the vehicle to the shoulder of the Highway because the cane truck refused to give them enough space to pass.
After that, the driver lost control of the SUV. That caused it to flip multiple times until it came to a complete stop in an area off the road with its 4 wheels in the air.
All the passengers survived the accident with minor injuries, except Rhonda Burgess, whose body was flung from inside. She suffered severe head and body injuries and died at the scene.
Today, her common-law husband, Eric Tillett recounted those horrifying moments when the vehicle ran off the road and started to tumble. Here's what he told us:
Eric Tillett - Accident Survivor/Common-law Husband of the Deceased
"We left from here 5 o'clock from Belize City, to get to Belmopan, for my common-law [wife], Rhonda Burgess, to visit one of her friend's daughter, who was sick. So, she just wanted to do something like a surprise. We left from Belize at around 5, drove nicely."
"Approximately, in the Cotton Tree area, Erlin Young Jr, was trying to overtake a cane truck, and the cane driver of that specific truck saw that he was trying to overtake him. My brother-in-law had his indicator on left to show that he was overtaking. But, the driver of the cane truck apparently didn't have any conscience or remorse for anybody else on the road. He swerved into our lane, forcing us to slide off the road. The gravel on the side of the road had the car dancing. My brother-in-law was trying to control the car as best as he could. And all I heard was 'bow', 'bow', and all I could see is the car flipping, flipping, flipping. So, I closed my eye, and I just prayed in my head, 'Please Father God, please help us'. And when the car flipped - actually, we ended up in a cane field off the road. And when the car did its last flip, we ended up on a hill. I was the first one who jumped out of the car, but I was kind of dazed, lost to the fact that no, this isn't happening like it was a dream. I shouted for Jerlyn and Roya, the 2 minors who were onboard. I shouted for Patrice. And I shouted for Erlin, the person who was driving."
"My head started bleeding, everything, I wasn't worried about that. I just wanted to know where my girlfriend. I was saying Rhonda, Rhonda, and I didn't see her. When I jumped on my 1 foot, and I went around the car, I saw her body motionless on the ground, motionless, and the same said cane driver, the same cane truck, was parked a distance up the stretch. They just had on their hazard. They stayed a distance from us. They didn't even have the dignity to come see what they caused."
"A doctor that was passing by nearby was assisting us in Placencia. He told me his name, but I forgot it. He was trying to perform CPR on my Rhonda, but apparently, her neck was broken or something. She tried to breathe for 15 minutes, but the last breath that she took was it."
"That was a straight stretch, when my brother-in-law overtook that man, that cane truck. He could have given us the privilege and the space to see that we were trying to overtake, and allowed us to pass, instead of pushing us off off the road. So, I hold that man in that truck fully accountable and responsible for what happened."
As you heard, Tillett says that the vehicle came to a complete stop in a cane field. Our inspection of the area shows that it was actually an open area with bushy sections.
But, there is an important correction that Tillett is demanding from the local media. Initially, police reports reaching different media houses were that he was the driver of the SUV at the time of the crash. He and his family members refuted that account which has caused him distress because the public was misled into thinking that his common-law wife died while he was behind the wheel. His family members tell us that he doesn't even have a driver's license and that he was in the backseat.
He also stressed to us today that the area where the accident occurred was a straight stretch of road and not a curve. His brother-in-law had full visibility of the traffic in front of him.
