7 News Belize

Grandmother Was Pinned To Fence By Out of Control Van
posted (February 26, 2020)
45-year-old Gertrude Gregorio and her 3-year-old granddaughter Nayelli are lucky to be alive after a car hit Gregorio while the two were walking home from the store. Cherisse Halsall visited the injured woman this morning and heard her story:

These are the remains of the fence in Belize City's Martin's area that 45-year-old Gertrude Gregorio found herself pinned to. That's after a van swung the corner at a high speed, hitting Gregorio and leaving her her three-year-old granddaughter under the vehicle, miraculously unharmed.

Gertrude Gregorio, Accident Victim
"All of a sudden I just felt something hit me from behind and when I turned around I saw that it was the vehicle and she hit me but it was a lucky thing that I didn't fall because if I had fallen she would have run over me and over my head so while she was hitting me you see like those grader things that push in sand it was like that.. As she hit me, I'm going, As she hits me I'm going, and I'm going until she finally pinned me against the fence."

"And then I got hooked to the fence so I didn't go too low in the drain otherwise it would have crushed me completely but she only ended up crushing the leg, the foot and the leg and that was where it hurt a lot because I'm in a lot of pain."

A lot of pain, but it could have been a whole lot worse:

Gertrude Gregorio, Accident Victim
"First it was like I had already blanked out. I don't know what made me come back but I came back."

It could only have been a grandmotherly instinct and Gertrude Gregorio's need despite her own ordeal to ensure the safety of her grandchild.

Gertrude Gregorio, Accident Victim
"I was asking where my grandchild was and they said she was okay and then I heard her crying. I didn't know where she ended up or where she came out from. She told one of the ladies that she crawled out from underneath the vehicle from out of the drain."

"I'm just glad that when I came around the lane I put her on the inside because if she had been on the outside she probably would have died so I was glad that she was on the inside and that she wasn't badly hurt. I don't know how she ended up behind and under the vehicle but thank god that's how it happened."

This morning Gertrude was at home after being treated and released from the hospital. But what was her condition last night when her family rushed out to find her still pinned to the fence?

Gertrude Gregorio, Accident Victim
"When they got out there the way they saw me they thought I was dead the majority of people thought that I was dead."

And, after that frightening accident what's Gregorio's agreement with the driver of the van?

Gertrude Gregorio, Accident Victim
"She said if I don't press charges or whatever she'll take care of everything."

Gertrude Gregorio is likely entitled to compensation, as we learned in the case of the Real Deal and her grandson there is an underutilized clause called "no-fault" which basically means, despite who is at fault, the insurance company is liable to pay medical expenses up to five thousand dollars.

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