7 News Belize

Bus Collision Injures 15
posted (September 13, 2011)
There was another accident this morning that caused pandemonium and panic on the Western Highway near Hattieville.

No one was gravely injured when two busses collided just east of Tropical Park at mile 13. That's a growing community and an increasingly popular bus stop. Today's collision happened just as one of those busses was leaving the bus stop and the other was overtaking.

Was racing a factor? It's difficult to say with certainty but it may have been. Whatever the case, the lives of dozens of passengers were put in grave danger.

Monica Bodden was on the scene shortly after - and with amateur video provided by a resident of the area who got there within minutes, she put this story together:..

Monica Bodden Reporting
The front of this G-Line bus was extensively damaged - after it collided into the back of this D&E Bus.

Both buses were travelling from Belmopan - and heading towards Belize City - when calamity struck.

It happened around 9 o'clock this morning - around mile 13 on the Western Highway. We are unable to count how many passengers were on both buses - but from what we gathered at the scene, the numbers were high.

Many of them gathered around - still shaken - while others had to be tended to by emergency technicians.

Many of them had cuts and bruises to their faces. This one man's head had to be bandaged by this emergency technician while others tried to help those in need.

Emergency technician
"Any other person that got hurt?"

This man sat at the back door of this G-Line bus - there were visible spots of blood on his shirt…

He was later helped up by two police officers. This one stood on the side of the road - putting his hands over a swollen bump on his head...

While this G-Line passenger sat in the bus with her eyes closed - hardly able to move…

Emergency technician 2
"Stand up on your strong leg miss and then turn and sit down on this side. We will put you to lay down. What we will do now is put your head over this side. You will feel pain."

"Take a deep breathe, we have to take you out. Lift, lift."

The passenger was later lifted onto this stretcher and taken out through the bus's back door - to be put in an ambulance heading for the KHMH.

We were told there were at least 3 ambulances that came on the scene. But what really happened? Well this one passenger that was travelling at the time on the D&E Bus told us they were over-taken by the G-Line bus.

Kevin Franklin- Passenger
"I was on the D & E bus."

Monica Bodden
"Heading to Belize City? And what happen?"

Kevin Franklin- Passenger
"We stop at the bus shed to pick up a few passengers and upon leaving the G Line bus try to overtake the D & E bus. While it was trying to overtake a pick-up was coming from the other side going west and when the G Line bus saw the pickup coming it notice that it was going into a head on crash if it didn't swerve. So it swerves to try and pull behind our bus but at the speed it was coming it couldn't stop and so hit the bus."

Monica Bodden
"Where were you seated inside the D & E bus?"

Kevin Franklin- Passenger
"I was seated in the middle, so I had my head back on the seat and I just felt the bus hit and my head flew in the front. If you look you can see the speed that the bus was coming at because the D & E bus was in front of the shed and the force that G Line bus hit it with it ended up in front here."

Monica Bodden
"It was a massive impact?"

Kevin Franklin- Passenger
"Yes the G Line bus was speeding."

And even though there were no fatalities at least 16 people were rushed to the KHMH for treatment.

Kevin Franklin- Passenger
"I jump out through the back door and as I jumped out I saw the conductor of the G Line bus on the ground. He was in a puddle of water and his face was bleeding and we jump out and we help him to get on his feet and we put him under the shed. People on the D & E bus weren't seriously injured but on the G Line bus you had a lot of people bleeding from their faces and mouth. There were a lot of young babies on that bus too."

Our thanks to Mike Quan for the post-accident footage he captured.

Now, here are the details:

Oswald Webster, was driving the D&E Bus when a G-Line Bus driven by Keith Gill attempted to overtake and collided into his bus. Fifteen persons were injured: Nicole Sabal who you saw in the video inside the G-Line bus was seriously injured and was trapped in her seat for thirty minutes until she was rescued.

Jacqueline Gillett complained of pain to her neck; Alicia Acosta complained of pain to her face; Oliver Villanueva, conductor on the D&E bus received a swollen forehead and complained of pain to the right foot; Charles Halsall whose face was being banaged in our video received a cut under the right eye; Canuto Cruz complained of pain to the head; Ismael Hoare received a cut wound to the head; Martin Teul, conductor on the G-Line bus received a cut wound to the head and complained of pain to the right foot; Douglas Brown complained of pain to the head and foot; Beverly Gillett complained of pain behind the neck and back; Shantell Williams complained of pain to her shoulder; Inosenta Cal complained of bruise to the face and behind the neck; Milagra Magana complained of pain to the face and Rochelle Lopez complained of pain to the right knee. All injured persons were transported to the KHMH for treatment, where Nicole Sabal remains in serious condition. Keith Gill driver of the G-Line bus has been served with a Notice of Intended Prosecution. Police have not disclosed whether notices of intended prosecution have been served on either of the drivers.

Residents in the area say they need a raised pedestrian crosswalk to be installed in the increasingly populated community where speeding is a genuine hazard.

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