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Motorcycle accidents within the city aren't uncommon - and the driver usually walks away with a few broken bones. But yesterday afternoon, an accident just outside of the city took the life of 42-year-old Ishmarley Clarke.
It came as a shock to his family, not just because of its suddenness, but because Clarke can usually be seen driving his vehicle, not a motorcycle.
And his death has gripped, not just his family, but his friends, since Clarke was well-known in many different circles.
Courtney Menzies spoke with his brother today and has this story.
42-year-old Ismarley Clarke's vehicle was at the mechanic's, forcing him to move around on a motorcycle for the first time in years.
That's why when his brother, Jermaine Bryant, heard that there was a motorcycle accident on the Phillip Goldson Highway, he couldn't believe that his brother was the victim.
That is, until he saw Clarke lying dead in the hospital.
Jermaine Bryant, Brother of Deceased
"I was at work and I received a call and at first I thought, it couldn't be true, right, because my brother on a bike? No way. And then I left work, I just told my supervisors I have an emergency, my brother was hit on his bike and the last message I got was that he died so I just rushed here to the emergency and when I got here, I saw everyone, so I knew it was true and I took my time, everyone greeted me and consoled me and I went inside and saw it for myself, saw my brother lying there, motionless."
"He recently just got that bike. To be honest, while I was at work, a guy came to drop off a package and his phone was ringing off and he answered his phone and the person asked him, are you okay? And he was like, yes, why? And the person said, someone just got knocked down off a bike on the highway in the same clothing that you're in and he said, no I'm fine I'm right here at the Post Office. And he got off the call and the person sent him the video that's circulating and he saw the video and said, do you want to see it? And I looked at it and I saw it and never came to mind that it was my brother on that ground."
Clarke was reportedly heading to the mechanic to check on his vehicle when he crashed into the back of a white van belonging to the New Testament Church of Belize. The van was parked on the side of the highway, just after the Pallotti bus stop.
He was flung off his motorcycle, and bled out in the street until an ambulance arrived.
Jermaine Bryant, Brother of Deceased
"Why is it that someone or no one can't assist especially if someone is bleeding out on the ground, I mean someone could have at least done something to help him to stop bleed. At least tie his belt around his leg to stop the bleeding a little bit until the ambulance arrived and that's just something that is playing in my mind over and over again, why didn't someone do that?"
And while it's already tough the family members who are in Belize, it's even more so for those living in the US, like Clarke's mother.
Jermaine Bryant, Brother of Deceased
"Every tragic news is hard, when everybody gets a news like that, it's unbelievable, it's something that nobody wants to hear and I took it easy because I have God on my side and because of that my faith is strong and he supports me in all of this but speaking to my mother and my sister and everybody, they were taking it really hard. They still didn't believe it. My mom for example, she wanted proof, she wanted to see her son, we had to do a live with her and show her her own son, that's how she got the news, or believed it and eventually couldn't hold back. Everyone was in tears. If you guys were here yesterday, everybody was outside. My brother, Ishmarley is well known."
And Bryant says it's Clarke's energy that draws people to him.
Jermaine Bryant, Brother of Deceased
"It's his personality, anybody he agrees with. Anybody he just… it's just his energy, his vibe. If he doesn't even know you, he will get to know you and eventually you and him will become friends and that's just who he is, no matter where he is, who he's with, he always carries that energy. And I know a lot of people will miss him, because I surely miss him right now."
"If you wanna say he was the father of the year for his kids, he would've won that award every time that it would've been given out because he was for his kids, he even moved his kids with him in his house to be close to them so they had a lot of time with their dad and that's something that I will continue to cherish because that was really good of him to do, to spend that quality time with his kids because you don't know when that time will come, unfortunately yesterday was his time."
He leaves behind two sons, ages 17 and 12, and a 1-year-old daughter.
