5 children are spending their first night without their mother after she was killed in a motorcycle accident in Belmopan early this morning. The incident occurred as 34 year old Marilyn Roches and 33 year old Takudzwa Kaseke drove past Belmopan Comprehensive High School. Kaseke lost control of the motorcycle and it ran off the road, killing Roches. And as her family gathered at the morgue today, it was like a mountain of grief had descended on them. Courtney Menzies spoke with them today and has this story.
In one fatal moment, 5 children are left motherless after she was involved in a road traffic accident. 34-year-old Marilyn Roches was riding pillion on a motorcycle after 2:00 this morning when the driver lost control on South Ring Road in Belmopan. While he survived, the impact killed Roches on the spot.
Roches had been living in Belmopan for about a year, and this morning, her family gathered at the morgue to share their grief and console her kids. One of her sisters told us that she couldn't believe the news when she first heard it.
Kamisha Cardenes, Sister of Deceased:
"This morning that's the news they woke me up with when my cousin came and told me he had bad news for me. So I asked him what?, But that was the last thing on my mind. I jumped out of my bed and ran into the hall and asked him what happened and he told me Marilyn died. I told him, no man, how? I told him, you're joking, this is a joke right? And when he started to cry then I knew that he was serious."
And for this close-knit family of 10 living siblings - with 5 having already passed away - they say that the pain feels insurmountable since they've had to grow up without their parents.
Kamisha Cardenes, Sister of Deceased:
"We don't have a mom or a dad. Our mom died from we were young. We had our dad for a little while yes but we were like our dad's parents. So we basically raised each other, we brought each other this far, we came this far, we came a long way. We been through a lot in life for this. This hit us hard."
"My sister was just at my house. She wasn't there for my birthday on the 23rd so she ended up coming and wishing me happy birthday. She said sis, I will buy a drink for you right now because I didn't get to go for your birthday so I got you, right now I'm going to come back. My sister went and came back and me and my sister chilled for hours until she was ready to leave in the night. And that night I haven't seen my sister until now."
And now Roches' children - ages 18 to 5 - will have to endure a similar fate without their mother.
Kamisha Cardenes, Sister of Deceased:
"My sister has 5 kids, four girls, one boy. My sister loves those kids, my sister would do anything for those kids. She is mom and dad for those kids. Those kids are left naked now. Those kids need their mom, she's their everything, she's all they have. She's all my nieces and nephews have, my sister. I don't even know what to tell them to calm them down, I don't know how to console them, I don't know what to do, I don't know. I wish something was there for me to do, I would do it now, but I can't. I need strength myself so this is hard for us."
And Roches will be remembered by her family as someone who loved life despite the hardships.
Kamisha Cardenes, Sister of Deceased:
"My sister… my sister is well known. Who doesn't know my sister doesn't know anybody. My sister is a very fearless person. She likes to explore life, life doesn't have an end with my sister. She's a loving sister, once she has it, everybody has it. If she doesn't have it, she will find a way to get it for you. She's all for her kids, all for her family. My sister is love, Marilyn is a lot of love. She doesn't keep still, she love this thing named life. She's about, she goes anywhere, anyhow. But this? This hit us hard."
"I just want them to get to the bottom of this situation. Let us get closure and find out what really happened to my sister. My sister got hurt bad. we just want closure and to find out what really took place because I got to understand that the young man that my sister was on the cycle with, who was driving the cycle, he got away with only minor scratches and bruises. So he found a way to save his life so he sacrificed my sister."
The driver of the motorcycle has been served with a notice of intended prosecution.
Urine samples were taken from Kaseke to determine whether alcohol was a factor in this accident.
