Last Friday, we took you to the Orange Walk District to the exact location the Blue Creek Road where the beloved Doctor, Jose Can, died. As we reported, his vehicle had a head-on collision with a Toyota Hilux pickup truck that belongs to the Customs Department.
The accident happened sometime after 8:00 on the night of Thursday, December 9. He was heading to his home in San Felipe Village, after completing his shift at the Northern Regional Hospital. An anti-contraband law enforcement team, consisting of members of the Customs Department, the Police's Mobile Interdiction Team, and the Belize Defense Force were traveling in the opposite direction. The truck was driven by a customs officer, and the 2 vehicles slammed into each other at mile 20 on the Blue Creek Road.
The lawmen suffered varying degrees of minor injuries, but Dr. Can's vehicle was completely wrecked. First responders found his body trapped behind the steering wheel, and the injuries he suffered were fatal. A post mortem found that he did from blunt force to the chest and abdomen.
The official version of the accident is that Dr. Can lost control of his car and collided with the Hilux, but his family is rejecting that account completely. They are insisting that it was the lawmen who slammed into him. Also, our news team visited the scene, and persons with trained eyes suggested to us that the Doctor was in his correct lane when the collision occurred.
Yesterday, the family and friends of Dr. Can received his body, and they staged a motorcade to escort it in preparation for his burial. But, the motorcade also served a second purpose; they wanted to make it clear to the authorities that they want a full and impartial investigation into his death.
His cousin spoke with our colleagues from CTV 3 News, and here's his demand for justice on behalf of Dr. Can:
Rufino Magana Jr., Cousin of Dr. Jose Can
"To my belief I have gone to the crash site and have myself saw exactly where he was hit and its nothing of what the news has said, nothing to what the police has said, because my cousin's car was almost right out of the road and that's where the crash site was. So, either he was coming very slow and try to avail them and they hit him. So what the police said is totally wrong, because you can see it right there. That makes me angry, because I know my cousin, he travels this road every single day whether he was drunk or not. The thing is what they are saying is totally wrong, it's not correct. So they are abusing their power and the ones involved we want them to bring them to justice. We want the police department to bring them to justice, because this is not fair. It's an injustice. Dr. Jose is the only doctor in our surrounding villages and from all other villages they would come to him, so its a bog emptiness, a big loss which no one would fill right now, its going to take for a while for this to sink in."
Reporter
"Have you all tried to contact the commissioner, have you all expressed your sentiments to the head of the Orange Walk police department about what your are feling, if you want justice and an investigation to take place?"
Rufino Magana Jr., Cousin of Dr. Jose Can
"I have heard that someone tried to reach the police Orange Walk station to no avail. They don't want to talk about this matter, so these have so many things to say."
Last week, allegations were raised on behalf of the two parties in this deadly accident that the drivers were under the influence of alcohol. Well, family members of Dr. Can are now insisting that they have solid reasons to believe that there was an attempt to suppress evidence that would have incriminated the team of lawmen.
