If you've ever watched or listened to one of the Prime Minister's press conferences, then you might remember Dorian Pakeman - who usually emcee's those events. He's the Director of the Government Press Office, but tonight he's making the news because he knocked down and killed 45 year-old Dean Dawson Jr., a well-known mechanic from Gardenia Village on the Phillip Goldson Highway.
It happened last night at around 11:30 - and Pakeman told police that Dawson came right into his path. But, our news team encountered 2 versions of the fatal accident, each putting a different person at fault. In Version 1, Pakeman says that Dawson was riding a bike in his direction, and in the middle of the road. He said that by the time he spotted him, it was too late, even though he swerved to the other side of the road to avoid the collision. The other version, coming from Dawson's family is that Pakeman was overtaking another vehicle, and that's when he had a head-on collision with Dawson was riding in the opposite direction toward Crooked Tree.
It's a tough case for police and it involves a well-connected government employee who answers to the Prime Minister's Office. Today, our news team went searching for answers. Daniel Ortiz has that report:
Daniel Ortiz reporting
45 year-old Dean Dawson Sr was knocked down and killed here between miles 22 and 23 on the Highway.
We found one of his slippers on the shoulder of the road, a piece of a bumper from an Isuzu D-Max… and blood stains indicating where his body finally lay after the impact which claimed his life.
The vehicle which hit him was this burgundy D-Max, assigned to the Government Press Office, driven by Director, 34 year-old Dorian Pakeman.
The pickup, now parked in the compound of the Ladyville Police Station, is extensively damaged. The bumper is broken and partially wrecked, there is a hole in the windshield, and the two airbags have been deployed - all tell-tale signs of the massive impact between a vehicle and a man who was riding a bicycle.
Back at the scene, we found skid marks coming from the middle of the road off the other side to show that Pakeman's pickup ran off the road sometime during the accident.
Here's what police suspect happened.
Inspector Juanito Cocom - OC, Ladyville Police
"Our investigation so far revealed that the Government of Belize vehicle was driven at the time by Mr. Dorian Pakeman, 34 years Belizean director for the Government press office and a resident of Poinsettia Street, Ladyville. He was heading from the direction of Orange Walk to Ladyville and between the miles 22 and 23 in Biscayne, he observed a person riding a bicycle in the same direction who suddenly swerved into his lane. He tried his best to avoid a collision by swerving to his left. However he still collided into the cyclist, who was later identified as Mr. Dean Dawson Senior, 45 year old mechanic of Gardenia Village, Belize District. The scene was processed, sketch plan drawn, a notice of intended prosecution has been served upon Mr. Dorian Pakeman who has also offered a caution statement, a urine sample was taken from him. Mr. Dawson was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at arrival. The Isuzu D-Max has been impounded and the matter is under investigation."
As you heard, police believe at this time that Dawson swerved his bike into Pakeman's lane, and caused the accident. The family does not accept that, and they say a driver who left the location later, tells them that Pakeman was in the process of overtaking him when the accident happened.
Voice of: Theresita Abraham - Common-law Wife of Deceased
"Nobody could not tell me that that driver was not driving hard, because if he wasn't driving hard it would have been a regular knockdown. Maybe Dean would have had a broken hand or a broken foot, he wouldn't have died instant on the spot. We got from a witness who was out there, who was in front of the D-Max, the vehicle apparently he was driving and the D-Max, coming at high speed, over take him. A little bit after that he just said he heard a loud noise and a bang. He didn't know someone had gotten knocked down, he saw the vehicle run off the road. He said 'I don't know who it is, it was just probably a driver just passing through the village'. He made it his business to reverse and check, and that was when he saw a person on the road."
Daniel Ortiz
"Is there anything to suggest that that is what happened?"
Inspector Juanito Cocom - OC, Ladyville Police
"There's nothing to suggest that."
Voice of: Theresita Abraham - Common-law Wife of Deceased
"Mr. Pakeman will say anything to cover for himself. the police, if they are experienced in doing thorough investigation, they will go on that highway, I mean at night of course you can't see good, but they should have gone back there today and process that crime scene properly. Because you can see where that D-Max went from his lane and ended up on the other side of the road. Dean is an old school bush man, he wasn't born yesterday, he's 45 years old, and he's not a careless driver. If he was on that road with a bicycle, he always knows that he won't be riding on the road and he wasn't drunk either. I don't want them to imply that maybe Dean was drunk, because he was sick. He had sick leave and he was on medication."
Pakeman was released later this morning after cooperating with investigators, and he's waiting for the police to decide if they will charge him or not.
Inspector Juanito Cocom - OC, Ladyville Police
"So far, he has not been charged. We are preparing the file to be sent to the director of public prosecutions for further directives."
Daniel Ortiz
"Is there a specific reason why in this particular instance sir?"
Inspector Juanito Cocom - OC, Ladyville Police
"Because as the investigation unfolds, apparently Mr. Dorian did not have the fault of the accident."
Voice of: Theresita Abraham - Common-law Wife of Deceased
"I'm hoping that justice is served, because someone died and that, to me, is manslaughter, causing death by careless conduct, driving without due care and attention. There are so many charges that could be placed against him and it's not like I'm telling them I want money because money won't bring back Dean. Money will never bring back dean, but they need to realize that he left children that needs to be taken care of. They need to realize that he was working, he had a full time job and he's only 45 years old and retirement age is 55. He had years ahead of him and he had to take care of his kids, so the government needs to take that into consideration."
As you heard, the Dawson family says that Pakeman is at fault. We spoke with him via phone and he categorically denied their claim that he was overtaking another vehicle. Moreover, Pakeman stressed that Dawson was not coming in the opposite direction. Pakeman told us that Dawson was heading in the same direction as he was, and that Dawson was in the middle of the lane.
Pakeman also stressed to us that he ensured that he cooperated with police fully after the accident. He called the police, waited on the scene, gave police a statement, and volunteered a urine sample to prove that he was not driving while under the influence of alcohol. He told us that he is doing his best to make himself available to police so that there can be no suggestion that he is receiving preferential treatment due to his government connections.
Police say that they will not make any decisions on whether or not they will charge him until they've sought the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions. We spoke with the DPP before the start of news, and she told us that she has not received any investigative file as yet.
So, who was Dean Dawson? Well, we got a chance to speak with one veteran firefighter who was his co-worker a few years ago. Here's what he had to say:
At the time of his death, Dawson was employed with AQ Auto Rental. He leaves behind several children, and his common-law wife.
Email
Print