By Belize Live News Staff: What happened on the Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway near the Punta Gorda junction on Saturday night is the kind of tragedy that leaves you searching for words.
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It started with one crash. It ended with two men dead.
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According to preliminary police investigations Andy August was driving a Mazda Tribute when he collided with a motorcycle ridden by twenty six year old Elmer Cal of Red Bank Village. The impact threw Cal from his bike.
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August did what most people would do. He stopped. He got out of his vehicle to check on Cal. His car sat stationary on the highway door open as he tended to the injured man.
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What August could not have anticipated was what came next.
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Fifty one year old Willie Cruz, a customs officer from Independence Village and a man known and loved across his community, was riding his own motorcycle along the same stretch of highway. Coming upon the scene he collided with the open door of the stationary Mazda Tribute. The force of the collision threw Cruz from his motorcycle causing severe injuries.
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Both Elmer Cal and Willie Cruz succumbed to their injuries.
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Two men. Two families. One terrible night on a Belizean highway.
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Police have issued a Notice of Intended Prosecution to August as the investigation continues. ASP Stacy Smith confirmed both deaths and the sequence of events as preliminary findings.
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This story is a gut punch reminder of how quickly and how cruelly our roads can take people from us. Willie Cruz was already being mourned by his Corozal community before the full details of his passing were even confirmed.
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BLN extends its deepest condolences to the families of Willie Cruz and Elmer Cal.
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May they both rest in peace.
