10 killed in head-on collision on Benque Road

by Charles Gladden and Orlando Pulido

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Dec. 9, 2024

The most horrific traffic accident in our country’s history occurred on Saturday night, December 7, near Mile 68 on the Benque Road of the George Price Highway, between Kontiki and Log Cabins, when two vehicles and a motorcycle collided, killing 10 persons and leaving four persons, two of them minors, injured.

The dreadful accident occurred a little after 10:00 p.m. and involved a Toyota Corolla, which was coming from the western border towards San Ignacio Town, a Ford Expedition SUV which was heading toward Benque Viejo Del Carmen Town, and a motorcycle with a sole rider who was trailing behind the SUV.

_{Photo: Burnt remains of motorcycle and Toyota Corolla}

Preliminary reports are that the Corolla with its 9 occupants drifted into the lane of the Ford SUV and collided head-on with it, and the motorcycle then crashed into the back of the SUV. Alessandro Carrillo of Benque Viejo Del Carmen, the motorcyclist, died on the spot. The Corolla reportedly flipped multiple times after crashing into the SUV, and then exploded into flames, killing everyone inside.

The persons who perished inside the Toyota Corolla are as follows: 21-year-old Genesis Parham, 22-year-old Aimee Hernandez, 31-year-old Shailer Lopez, 19-year-old Jahiem Iglesias, 29-year-old Abigail Bradley, 24-year-old Keilin Pinelo, 21-year-old Dennis Williams, 30-year-old Jasmin Rodriguez, and her 4-year-old Jazelle Rodriguez, all from the San Ignacio/Santa Elena area.

“The small car was fully engulfed in flames, as you have seen on social media. All we could have done was focus on extinguishing the fire, without contributing too much to disperse or dispel what we later learned were the bodies of the trapped in this vehicle,” said Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor of the National Fire Service.

“… Information is still forthcoming from both the fire department out west and the police department, as we have still not directly ascertained what [led] to that fateful accident Saturday night. What we are still trying to piece together is the how. How did it happen? What was the driving force? Was alcohol involved? Was it drunk driving involved? We don’t know. When you look at all these factors, could we have had a loose fuel pump? Could we have had a loose fuel filter? All those combined with a simple spark will lead to a fire,” he added.

A short while before the tragic accident, personnel from the police department said the driver of the Corolla had not stopped at a checkpoint that was on the highway.

Commenting on the number of people in the car, Mr. Mortis said, “When you look at nine people in a small car, such as a Corolla like that size, I am trying to fathom how I can fit nine people in a car. For those types of vehicles, max, I can squeeze six or seven; but I’m looking at nine. It would be hard to [say] if they would have survived the accident, had it not turned out this way. They would have been squashed either way; if we look at it, we would have probably had fatalities. I’m not so sure if the entire nine would have been [killed]; that fire just played a devastating part in contributing to the accident.”

A relative of Pinelo and Bradley, Rosalba Pinelo told the media that after midnight she was informed about the accident. She called Bradley’s phone multiple times, when a police officer answered it and she was informed to come to the scene.

“So, reaching out to the scene was like your body just trembling, you’re nervous, you don’t know what to expect to see, you know. And, like, we were there; the police say you cannot go no farther than this, because it’s a horrible sight that the family cannot see. [They] were coming back and forth, and they said they needed a family member of Keilin Pinelo; and my brother was there, and he was the one who went to identify her, and came back crying and it’s her. Maybe an hour [later], they came and asked for Abigail Bradley’s family; and her brother identified her; and that was when [we found out] both of them were in the accident,” Pinelo said.

Jahiem Iglesias was the last to be identified, and this was done by his sister, Mitzi Iglesias, who then had the difficult job to inform her family about the passing of her brother.

“Around 4:00 a.m., I went to the hospital, and they told me they couldn’t give me any info. I came here to the station, and that’s when the police were, like, ‘We have a male that we haven’t identified. What clothes was your brother wearing?’ And I told him, ‘a white shirt and black pants’; and they were, like, ‘there’s a male with that clothing;’ and I still couldn’t believe it. I still messaged and called, and no response; and it was [a piece of] news that I had to tell my mom, that her son had passed away. It was very tragic,” she mentioned.

Hon. Orlando Habet, Cayo North-East area representative, said in a statement released after the tragedy, “I am saddened about the tragic traffic accident on the George Price/Western Highway that took the lives of so many of our young people. I cannot begin to understand and fathom the loss and pain of the family and friends who lost their loved ones. It is difficult to accept the loss of all these young lives. Our towns mourn, our country mourns these lost souls. Let us pray for the souls of the departed. Let us pray for strength and comfort in this time of bereavement for these families.”

On Sunday morning, fragments of the vehicles could be observed by the side of the road on the George Price Highway.

A candlelight vigil was planned for Monday at 6:00 p.m. by the Cayo Welcome Center.

Veteran statesman/historian Hector Silva says of the accident, “This is a record for Belize. There has never been a crash like this.”

Mayor Earl Trapp says that he is recommending more checkpoints within town limits—to prevent the accidents. “In my humble opinion, it is the worst that I have seen,” he said.

In the wake of the multiple fatalities, the members of the Santa Elena/San Ignacio community have joined in to raise funds for the families affected. One owner of The Gully Grill, Andrew “Passy” Haylock took the initiative with a fundraiser titled “Just a Dollar”, where all the proceeds would go to the victims’ families.

“I was in bed thinking about what I could do for the community. It’s heart-wrenching what we’re going through right now; and driving through the town, it’s a sad moment. You can feel the sadness in the air, but it’s a good cause. It’s a little bit overwhelming. I didn’t know that it was spiraling to this point right now, but I’m getting a lot of contributions … People from Guatemala have reached out to me. People from the US have reached out to me; from England. So, sometimes it gets a little bit emotional, because we do know that evil is out there; but at the end of the day, it’s all about love. Love will always conquer evil,” he said.

Financial donations can be sent to Haylock’s Belize Bank Account number 123827010220002.

No timeline has been given for when an official report will be released by authorities, as the investigation continues.