Belize City Motorcyclist Dies After Highway Crash

The weekend claimed another life on Belize’s highways after a 23-year-old Belize City resident succumbed to injuries sustained in a traffic accident on the Philip Goldson Highway on Saturday night.  According to police, the fatal incident occurred at approximately 9:05 in front of the Easy Inn Hotel in Belize City. Initial investigations indicate that a 2002 Thomas passenger bus had been parked on the right-hand side of the highway while its driver, 23-year-old Taricke Taylor Davis of Sand Hill Village, had exited the vehicle and was standing beside the driver’s window after securing the bus.  Police say a red Lifan motorcycle, driven by twenty-three-year-old Osmanie Omar Herrera of Belize City, was travelling toward Belize City at a high rate of speed when it collided with Davis. The impact reportedly threw the bus driver onto the pavement in front of the parked bus, while Herrera lost control of the motorcycle and was flung approximately one hundred and thirty-one feet from the point of impact.  Both men were rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital by BERT ambulances. Davis sustained what police believe are broken feet along with abrasions to his elbow and wrist. Herrera suffered severe head and facial injuries and remained unconscious after the crash. Due to his condition, police were unable to serve him with a Notice of Intended Prosecution or obtain a blood sample.  Despite medical efforts, Herrera succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital at 3:13 on Sunday afternoon.  Police say statements from witnesses are still being recorded, surveillance footage has yet to be reviewed, and the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision remain under active investigation.