A deadly weekend on Belize’s roads is leaving one family shattered and searching for answers. Twenty-seven-year-old Thomas Martinez of Georgeville is among several lives lost, and tonight his loved ones are speaking out, demanding justice. Police say Martinez was riding his ATV home from Esperanza Village when a red Dodge Charger, driven by twenty-year-old Hai Ming Chen, slammed into him from behind. The force of the crash hurled him into a roadside drain, leaving him with fatal injuries. Now, as the investigation continues, Martinez’s family is turning their grief into a call for accountability. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
What should have been a simple family gathering turned into heartbreak in a matter of minutes. Thomas Martinez spent Saturday night enjoying a barbecue with relatives in Esperanza, sharing food and laughter with loved ones. But just moments after saying goodbye and heading home, tragedy struck. Less than ten minutes later, Martinez was hit and killed, leaving his family to grapple with the shock of losing him almost as soon as they had last seen him.
Stacy Smith
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“The responding officers reported that upon their arrival, they observed a gravely injured Mr. Martinez, who was being attended to by paramedics, and some twenty feet away from him was an extensively damaged ATV. Also observed on the scene was a damaged Dodge Charger SUV. What we have learned so far in the course of the ongoing investigation is that both vehicles were traveling in the same direction, being from Esperanza Village to Georgeville, and preliminary investigation suggests that the ATV was struck from behind, which caused Martinez to be flung into a nearby drain. A urine sample has also been obtained from Mr. Chen. Chen.”
Martinez’s family says his ATV had working lights, and he always carried the proper registration and license documents when he was on the road. His sister-in-law Roshida Reynolds-Martinez says that while that stretch of the rode is dark, she believes any driver who was paying proper attention would be able to see Martinez.
Voice of: Roshida Reynolds-Martinez
Voice of: Roshida Reynolds-Martinez, Sister-in-law of Deceased
“I was upset and sad at the same time, seeing where it all unfold, from where his first slipper was to where his other slipper was, was to where the car that hit him was. Like, for me, I’m not even sure how you as a person could hit someone and your car could be end up all the way close to Running W from where the scene was.”
Martinez, an auto-body technician, is remembered as a tenacious worker, who is always willing to lend a helping hand. His family is still coming to terms with the loss, but say they won’t stop until justice is done.
Voice of: Roshida Reynolds-Martinez
“He had just went to the ATM to took out some money for my mother-in-law. And when my mother-in-law went to the police to, you know, gather his stuff to get the stuff that they have from him, only five dollars. Like, it’s very upsetting. It’s upsetting to the fact that I feel like they’re dragging their foot. I’m not sure if they want to just shove it under the rug, but it’s unacceptable. It’s very unacceptable and very, you know, upsetting because he, he is loved. I’m not gonna say was because even though he’s not no longer with us, he is loved, right, from everyone around him. My brother-in-law was a very humble person, hardworking, loving.”
The family is asking for thorough investigation and for all details surrounding the incident to be revealed.
Voice of: Roshida Reynolds-Martinez
“We want justice for him because he didn’t deserve that. No one deserve any loved one to be killed by someone else’s negligence. And ain’t no way anyone that knows the law know that is negligence. That is manslaughter by negligence. So we want justice. Justice is all we’re asking for. And to anyone out there, I’m speaking to any and everyone out there that is know exactly what’s going on, we want an update. We want to know exactly what’s going on with this case in regards to our brother-in-law because he deserve the justice.”
The family is also calling on the government to increase visibility on that stretch of the road as several accidents have occurred in that area. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Police are still investigating and have yet to levy any charges.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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