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Tonight, one small child is dead and another is injured after a horrible accident in the city this evening.  

 4 year old Jaston Terry was killed on Cemetery Road in Belize City while his older brother was injured.  Our team is just back from the scene and Monica Bodden will have the full story with eyewitness accounts for you a little later in the newscast.

But first, an update to the news of the death of another child…

The post mortem on 12 year old Sabrina Almendarez finished last night and it determined that she died from a sports injury, not a tetanus shot.

Pathologist Dr. Hugh Sanchez found that there was "blunt trauma to the right forehead" as a consequence of a sports injury. 

The death certificate says she died of broncho-aspiration and noted cerebral edema and cerebral hemorrhage as complications which led to her death.

A press release from her family's attorney Audrey Matura Shepherd says that, quote, "…also uncovered during the examination are injuries to her kidney, spleen, liver and lungs,  in which blood was also found."

It adds that quote, "The doctor concluded that the possible cause of these injuries can be her active sporting career, as the child is known to be an vivid football and softball player." End quote. 

Sabrina was the pitcher of her school's softball team in Independence Village. Matura Shepherd says her family is now tracing any possible sport injury she may have gotten.

Our colleagues at Plus TV caught up with Audrey Matura-Shepherd, this morning in Belmopan, and she told them that instead of clearing up what actually caused her death, they are more confused, and they continue to look for closure on the matter:

Audrey Matura-Shepherd - Attorney for Almendarez Family
"Like the family said, they never knew what caused her death, and so, the post mortem was important. The results of the post mortem is rather alarming because what has revealed is that she died broncho-aspiration. What the doctor explained to us that means is that she had a trauma on her head. As a result of that trauma on her head, her brain was bleeding, and the brain was swollen. And as the brain got more swollen, and the blood filled the cavity of the skull, it pressed down on the rest of the organs in her head. That then went to her trachea, and as a result, of that, she suffocated. So, she last her breath, but the real original cause is that injury on top of her head. That is the cause of her death. The secondary reasons which their other observations was that on the left side of her body, close to her lungs, spleen, liver and kidney, there is a massive injury. But the interesting thing is that the doctor and the family never saw any external injury, and we don't know how to explain that away. There was no visible sign; the father said that he never saw any injury to the head. She never complained other than the headaches. On the injury of her side, she never really complained, so they are in total shock and disbelief. They themselves want to know what would have caused it. So, it has not been easy, as a matter of fact, just her dying wasn't easy. Now, knowing the cause, it's like they just keep questioning how, and why. So, it has been really difficult for them." 

The pathologist has taken samples for further testing.  The Ministry of Health says it will be following that closely.  They remain concerned about the child's sudden death, but want to reassure the public that their vaccines are safe.  We spoke to CEO Peter Allen via telephone this evening:

Dr. Peter Allen - CEO, Ministry of Health (Via Telephone)
"I am not sure if everybody understands how much work, and how much effort our nurses put into this program, but we actually vaccinate more than 7,000 babies until the age of 1 year every year, and more than 14,000 infants between the age of 1-2 years of age, as well as 3,000 adolescents, as well as over 7,000 pregnant women vaccinated every year. So, that's well in excess of 30,000 vaccination every single year; no fatalities have every occurred as a result of any vaccines given in Belize. The types of cases that we do see after somebody has an injection, are sometimes small rashes around the injection sight, and sometimes some slightly elevated temperatures or fevers. In Belize, 100% of all of our vaccines, not 99%, or 99.5%, but 100% of all of our vaccines, all of our syringes, needles, and supplies are purchased through the Pan-American Health Organization, and our nurses monitor what we call the cold chain, and are required to monitor every single refrigerator at least twice daily, and maintain the temperature of between 2 degrees and 8 degrees."