Retired Nurse Killed in Benque Hit and Run

A 60-year-old retired nurse, Miriam Requena of Benque Viejo Town, Cayo District, has died following a hit-and-run accident on George Price Boulevard.  The incident occurred last night at around eight thirty.  Police were alerted of an accident near the SEBI office and found Requena unresponsive in the street. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang and saw a white vehicle speeding away but were unable to provide a detailed account of the crash.  Our newsroom spoke with Mayor Jorge Rosales who says the council has been grappling with a serious issue of drinking and driving.

Jorge Rosales, Mayor, Benque Viejo: “I regret very much of what happened to Ms.Miriam, a lady that has been working for the Benque Community. She was one of the old nurses that was working at the clinic, at the Mopan Clinic at one time. She was very known to the people of Benque Viejo and we regret her loss. But people like this going out there and drinking and not having care for people I think something needs to be done about it. In regards to road safety in Benque as Mayor we have been putting a lot of regulations in Benque Viejo which people are a little bit angry because of the regulation but looking at this it has minimized a lot of traffic violations and people are respecting the safety of the laws and rules of the town council. But in regards to the boulevard we don’t control as a council we don’t control the boulevard because it’s a highway. That is directly to MIDH. But we have asked permission to do some pedestrian ramps at the boulevard where this accident happened but we asked the permission long before the two accidents happened but since our finances are little short we are focusing on other things. But looking at this I think it’s not that we need to put more traffic laws and things like that the problem is the drinking and driving.”

Love News understands that the victim was returning home from a church service and stood on the boulevard’s median to cross the street.  The white vehicle reportedly passed by and hit the woman, leaving her on the boulevard.  Emergency personnel transported Requena first to the San Ignacio Community Hospital and later to the Western Regional Hospital. She succumbed to her injuries at 12:52 this morning.  Authorities are appealing to anyone with information about the incident to come forward.