Second Fatal Crash Involving House Transport Sparks Fresh Highway Safety Concerns

A second fatal highway collision involving the night-time transport of a house has occurred within three weeks, raising renewed concerns about road safety despite recent restrictions introduced by the Ministry of Transportation.  The latest incident happened shortly after midnight along the George Price Highway near Mile 18, at the entrance to the Bainville Community. Police say that around 12:20 a.m., a silver Dodge Ram pickup hauling a 22-by-40-foot zinc house on a flatbed trailer was traveling from Hattieville toward Belmopan when it was struck by an oncoming grey Chevy Trail SUV heading toward Belize City.  The SUV’s driver, 38-year-old laborer Dean Martin Perez of Eight Mile, was trapped inside the vehicle and later pronounced dead from injuries sustained after colliding with the corner of the zinc structure. The driver of the Dodge Ram, identified as 25-year-old Zinedine Hernandez of San José Village, Orange Walk District, was escorting the load at the time.  The fatality follows a similar incident on November 29, when 53-year-old Pastor Julian Elias Bol of Maya Mopan Village was killed after his vehicle collided with a convoy transporting a large wooden house. On that same day, minutes earlier, that same convoy had been involved in another collision that left a driver injured.  The Ministry of Transportation has not yet issued a statement on the latest crash or indicated whether further adjustments will be made to the approved hours for transporting wide loads.