Imagine leaving home after midnight to go buy a fried chicken, and then waking up the next day in the hospital with your right foot amputated from the knee down. It's almost unimaginable, but that's just what happened to Francis Gill early on Saturday morning at Key Lee restaurant in Belize City.
As we told you last night, eyewitnesses report that 42 year old Gill had some hard with 33 year old Devon Jones outside Key Lee - which is the former Li Chee at 12:45 am. Jones was with his girlfriend and after she had gotten her shrimp order, they left. But what no one expected was that Jones would then drive his Chevy Blazer over the sidewalk, and ram into Gill, but once but twice. He shattered Gill's right leg - and to the horror of onlookers, his leg actually came apart right there in front of the restaurant.
It's an unimaginable scene, and Gill remembers very little, if anything of the event. Today he came out of the hospital - and he agreed to speak to Monica Bodden off camera. He told her how he's dealing with life as an amputee:...
Francis Gill, Maimed
"I recall me and 3 young men going to Li Chee, I went there to purchase some food. I remember going there ordering food and I remember that I ordered the food and I went to the side to urinate and I just remember a hard pain in my body that I can't explain. From that point there I don't recall. When I woke up the next day I realize that my leg was completely gone and I started to ask questions. I ask why and how it happened and from what they told me, they said that it was an accident. They explained that someone ran into the wall into Li Chee and I am saying to them how is this an accident; if someone come onto the side walk into the fence and ran into me. I don't really know what was the reason or why someone would go all that way to try to kill me because I heard that he tried to run over me more than once but someone pull me out the way. I don't recall that, but this is what I heard. I don't know what I could say to someone or say to an individual for an individual to do something like that to me. It's like he was trying to take my life."
Monica Bodden
"This person, I am sure that you probably heard the name, the accused on the news. Do you know him?"
Francis Gill, Maimed
"Ma'am I don't know this individual, I never saw him before. I don't know him and we are not friends. I have never had any problem with this person before, so I don't really know why this person did what he did. They should have charged him for trying to kill me. I don't know what the police got from it, but that's my recollection of everything. I didn't see this young man coming into me or I would have gotten out the way. It's going to be hard because I have a family and I have bills to pay. I love my family, so I don't know how I will be able to do it but I have loving people around me, so I am going to be strong and I will stay focus and do appreciate that I have my life and that I could be here with my family. It's going to take a while for me to get back on my feet, but you know with the help of the good Lord I will make it."
Again, we note his account does not match that of eyewitnesses who said that the two men had argued, that Gill stared down Jones as he was mounting the sidewalk and racing his engine, and that he was hit two times - the second one being when he lost his leg.
Police say there was an actual fight, and Jones's family says he was beaten up by a group of men. He has been charged for maim and aggravated assault.
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