And, switching subjects now...
Over the weekend, a father and motorcyclist lost his life in a fatal traffic accident. The entire incident, which occurred on Friday night, was caught on surveillance footage, and while 49-year-old Ari Vanzie had the right of way, it is little consolation to his family. This is especially because only two years ago, Vanzie's daughter was also killed in a traffic accident.
However, in this case, it was the other driver making an illegal turn that cost Vanzie his life. Courtney Menzies has this story.
49-year-old Ari Vanzie's family is forced to come to terms with losing a second family member to a traffic fatality.
Vanzie had gone out to buy food for his family, and was heading home when the accident happened on Forest Drive in Belmopan. This surveillance video captured the moment when the driver of a vehicle made a left turn into Vanzie's lane, causing him to ram straight into the front fender.
And even though the vehicle had on its indicator for a left turn, Vanzie had the right of way.
And while he survived the night, he passed away while receiving treatment on Saturday morning.
Yesterday, his stepfather told our colleagues at PlusTV that the family never expected Vanzie's life to end that way.
Voice of: Miguel Guzman, Stepfather of Deceased
"The family was in shock, all of us were in shock, we were there praying for him, seeing if God would have mercy but you know God have better plans for him. I really regret that an incident like this had to occur but we must be careful as drivers and motorcycle riders because there are people out there who are very inconsiderate who do not respect the traffic laws. I am not too certain as to what actually happened or how the accident came about, I know there have been some release on the media who have mentioned that it was a head on collision, but my understanding is that it was not a head on collision."
And part of that shock is because Vanzie's own daughter, 25-year-old Arita Vanzie, lost her life back in 2021 after the vehicle she was driving in crashed on the Hummingbird Highway.
At that time, Ari Vanzie had given a heart wrenching interview about what it was like seeing his young daughter in a body bag:
Voice of: Ari Vanzie Sr., Father of Deceased
"I reached the hospital and then I received the shocking, really really traumatic news that Arita has passed, I could not believe it, I thought that maybe there was something I could have done, or maybe I could still go and talk to the doctor and see what we could have done but she had already passed, she was gone already."
"This is a difficult thing, there is nothing like this you can ever imagine that you would see your daughter in the morning and by the night time she's gone, just seeing her in the morgue in a body bag having to identify her, it's just nerve boggling trying to comprehend all of that."
And now, it's like deja vu for the Vanzie family, who must now endure the grieving process once again.
Police have not reported on the fatal accident or disclosed if and when charges will be brought against the driver.
