In the past few months, motorcycle accidents have been on the rise, and today, another life was lost in Belize City. Around 8:30, 36-year-old Michael McKenzie was heading to work when he was hit by a bus at the corner of East Canal and King Street. At first, his family believed he would've pulled through, but about an hour after the accident, he died while receiving treatment.
We spoke to his brother, who was one of the first persons on the scene. Courtney Menzies has this story.
Michael McKenzie just celebrated his 36th birthday three and a half weeks ago. But that birthday was his last since he lost his life in a traffic accident this morning.
McKenzie was reportedly riding his motorcycle along East Canal, when a bus crossing the bridge at the intersection of King Street collided into him. McKenzie flew into a wall and lay sprawled out in the street.
But, miraculously, there were no external injuries, and when his brother arrived on the scene, he was responsive and coherent.
Voice of: Darren Benguche, Brother of Deceased
"I reached to the scene, I got off my cycle, I approached my brother, he was responsive, I talked to him for like probably ten minutes. I asked him what parts of him were hurting, if his head was hurting, he said no, I asked if his neck was hurting, he said no, I asked if his hand was hurting, if he could move his hands, he said yes he could move his hands, he moved his limbs, raise his hand to me, I asked if he could move his foot, he moved his foot, both left and right legs so I asked him what part of you is hurting, and that's when he said his side and when I rubbed his side, I felt a lump so when I felt the lump, I said to myself that this isn't normal, this has to be something more severe than just a little lump."
But while there were no external injuries, there were internal ones, and before Benguche knew it, his brother had succumbed.
Voice of: Darren Benguche, Brother of Deceased
"A next mobile stopped and I asked the driver to take my brother to the hospital because he's still breathing, catch in an accident and stuff, so the driver stopped and rendered assistance. Me and two of my close friends from the neighborhood help put him in the mobile and that's when I realized my key was still in the ignition for my bike due to the fact that I reached on the crime scene and jumped off my cycle with the fright knowing that my brother was on the ground. So I jumped out the mobile to get my key out the ignition and that's when the mobile took off and I realized I couldn't have left the scene knowing that no one was there to give any report on my brother so knowing that he was going on the mobile I felt okay that he would reach to the hospital."
"I got that last call after like 45 minutes and that when they told me that I need to reach to the hospital now cause this was the last of it, the hospital and the doctors already gave up on him. They tried their best but they couldn't have done anything because of the internal bleeding, the hit that he took."
And Benguche explained that the driver of the Sarteneja bus that hit him told him that he didn't see McKenzie, but that it was the left side that hit him. Benguche accepted that his brother was probably trying to speed across the road to beat the bus, but he believes the driver is also at fault.
Voice of: Darren Benguche, Brother of Deceased
"We can't really turn back the hands of time but if we could, like I said if that driver would have looked left or right for that quick instinct when he said he heard a cycle rev but he didn't look he just continued driving because he had the right of way so he continued driving not knowing there was a cycle man coming across."
"He was approximately, 1/3 of his body and the cycle was already across the road, only his back wheel was left to cross the intersection at King Street and East Canal. If that driver would have just looked up that one second, he could have brakes and avoided colliding into that young man, and hitting him into that wall. But the driver said he had the right of way so he didn't have to stop."
And Benguche says while his brother was a speedy driver, he was also a cautious one who'd been driving cycles for years.
Voice of: Darren Benguche, Brother of Deceased
"He's a motorists for quite some time, he used to deliver for Peppers Pizza, I don't know if you remember the little cycle that was driving around when Post Office used to do delivery, some small little Meilan cycle, so from then he used to drive those little cycles, delivering for Peppers Pizza. He owned different cycles he used to drive around, he was heading to work at the time."
"My brother was a quiet person, he kept to himself, he's a July born his birthday just went on the 7th of July. He's not really a company person, he likes his music, he likes making stuff, building stuff. He's a person that really good with his hands. Like I said, his job is survey, he likes bush, he likes village, he likes the country life, he likes the wild, so that was his type of stuff that he loves."
He leaves behind one teenage son.
The bus driver has been charged with a notice of intended prosecution.
