An Eyewitness Account of Sunday’s Fatal Accident in Orange Walk
New footage from Sunday night’s deadly collision following a high-speed chase involving police in Orange Walk Town and a pair of men on a motorcycle has surfaced. Tonight, we revisit the story of how a twenty-year-old father of one lost his life following the incident. Jesus Sacul, a deliveryman of that northern municipality, died after the motorcycle he was travelling on crashed into a concrete wall. He was the pillion rider, while his nephew Jairo Guerra drove the motorcycle. The motorcycle lost control after it collided with the police mobile. News Five’s Duane Moody reports on what happened following the accident.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The deadly result of a high-speed chase in Orange Walk involving police officers and an uncle and nephew duo continues to grip residents of that northern municipality. Just four months ago, a group of motorcycle riders were shot at by police during a vehicular pursuit and a youth was fatally injured. While shots were not fired in this most recent case, there was loss of life after Jesus Sacul and Jairo Guerra crashed into a concrete wall at the entrance of West San Martin Street.
Voice of: Witness
“I deh pan my sofa and I see the flashing light of police di come down the lane and I hear the motor the go dah front. So I come out and I check. When I peep, I see dah my two friends police di chase. And when I do so, and I say make I look behind weh I could see the back street, I see my friend pass. And when I see my friend pass, I hear bam.”
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“The police pursued them with the lights and siren on, indicating for them to stop and despite the police using lights and siren and indicating to them to stop, they did not stop. The pursuit continued through Trial Farm and ended up in front of a gas station where according to the police again, the motorcycle rider lost control of the motorcycle and collided into the fender of the police vehicle, falling to the ground.”
Police retrieved the extensively damaged motorcycle from the area. But video of what happened in the immediate aftermath of the accident shows the victims on the dirt road with visible signs of head and body injuries; Sacul in the grey t-shirt and Guerra in yellow, bleeding from the head. There is a request for them to be taken to the hospital for treatment, but reports are that the ambulance did not show up and instead you can see Guerra being placed in the pan of a civilian vehicle before being taken to the medical facility for treatment. One eyewitness shares an account of what transpired.
Voice of: Witness
“The police knock dehn; the police knock dehn. And when dehn knock dehn, the same man weh mi di wait fuh passage right there say when the police knock dehn, the first one weh di drive gone into the wall – slam to the wall and the one dah back, gone to the side. So the impact weh dehn bally get heavy.”
Reporter
“And just now the family members came out and say that they might not make it?”
Voice of: Witness
“One of them might not make it; the one dah back.”
Unfortunately, Sacul did not survive and a post-mortem examination will determine the cause of his death. Meanwhile, Jairo Guerra is still hospitalized and under police guard, recovering from the injuries he sustained. Police from Belmopan were dispatched to the Northern Regional Hospital to quell the ruckus in the aftermath of the tragic news of Sacul’s passing.
Chester Williams
“There was an issue at the Northern Regional Hospital in the aftermath of the passing of the young man. Police were called and we had sent additional police from Belmopan to Orange Walk to assist last night. And from what I observed from the footage, it showed that the police did exercise great restraint in the circumstances. We were able to hold the area until the crowd decided to disperse without any incident. So I think that is commendable on the part of the police.”
The Commissioner of Police confirmed that no charges will be levelled against those persons who were involved in the upheaval. A criminal and an internal investigation are underway to determine whether there is any culpability on the part of the officers involved. Duane Moody for News Five.