And at 7:30 pm there was another accident - this one by mile 7 on the northern highway. Again, lives could have been lost - and if it weren't for a concrete barrier, a ford ranger would surely have plunged into the Belize river. Two men were southbound in the pickup when suddenly a Jeep Cherokee which was going in the opposite direction, spun into their lane. They swerved off the road and headed right for the river. They crashed into the concrete barrier and one of the pickups wheels were left hanging over the river. A very close call and one of the passengers in the Jeep told us what they experienced:
Sharlette Bainton, Accident Victim
"When we were coming down from Belize, a vehicle just passed by, slammed into the rear-view mirror and went away. He lost control of his vehicle and so when he was driving this way, he ended up in the middle of the road. A white truck was passing by and he just knocked into that."
Jules Vasquez
"When the driver knocked into the mirror, he ended up into the other lane?"
Sharlette Bainton, Accident Victim
"Yes, he ended up in the middle because the vehicle just flew past and bam. We just heard the rear-view mirror knocked. It splattered the glass. When that happened, he lost control of the vehicle. And when he was going towards the middle, he started to turn on the other side and that's why he knocked into this white truck."
Jules Vasquez
"Wow, okay now you all were very frightened, very emotional."
Sharlette Bainton, Accident Victim
"Very frightened, we thought we were going into the river first. Jeez."
Jules Vasquez
"Ma'am now I have to ask you, its Sunday night, everybody came from a party. Was there alcohol involved?"
Sharlette Bainton, Accident Victim
"Well we weren't drinking, we came from visiting my dad in the hospital."
Jules Vasquez
"Oh, okay."
The men in the pickup were too shaken up to speak.
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