Tonight, residents of the Orange Walk District are mourning the death of a beloved doctor. He's 39-year-old Jose Victor Can, who played a major role in the vaccination campaign for that northern district. Last night, he was driving to his home in the village of San Felipe, when he crashed into a pickup full of lawmen who were on contraband patrol.
Right now, there is a furious debate about the cause of the accident, and who actually is at fault. But the fact-finding inquiry is being complicated by allegations that both drivers of the two vehicles were under the influence of alcohol.
We'll tell you more about that a little later on, but first, we report on the accident and the aftermath. Our News team went looking for answers on the Blue Creek Road, and Daniel Ortiz has that story:
The sudden and unexpected death of Dr. Jose Victor Can has shaken his family from the village of San Felipe in Orange Walk. His brother vividly recalls that he spent almost 10 years studying to be a medical officer.
Jesus Can - Brother of the Deceased
"We do recall back, we do remember the number of years that he has been abroad trying to uplift himself, my mom behind him, the family supporting him- being away for 7-8 almost 9 years of studying and for this thing to happen, indeed it's a sad reality to the entire family."
Dr. Manuel Estrada - Medical chief of Staff, Northern Regional Hospital
"His loss, his untimely passing away is a big loss for us, because for us he was like a part of our family and this leaves a profound empty space in our lives and ot will impact the vaccination campaign, because he was always there leading the way."
Last night at around 8:30 p.m., the 39-year-old was heading to his home village after his shift at the Northern Regional Hospital ended. But, he didn't make it; he passed away on the scene of a major traffic accident at mile 20 on the Blue Creek Road.
Jesus Can - Brother of the Deceased
"He works right there at the Northern Regional Hospital in Orange Walk."
Reporter
"He was heading home to San Felipe?"
Jesus Can - Brother of the Deceased
"He was heading home. He was almost within 10 minutes from almost reaching home."
Dr. Can was driving this black Ford Escort Car, and his vehicle slammed into this White Toyota Hilux, which belongs to the Customs Department. The pickup was being driven by a customs officer, and 3 police officers from the Mobile Interdiction Team and 1 Belize Defense Force soldiers were inside the vehicle with him were.
Initial accounts seem to be suggesting that Dr. Can lost control of his car collided into the Hilux, but experienced individuals tell us that the accident scene suggests otherwise.
The trail of tire tracks suggests that after the impact, the Hilux swerved off to the road to the right and that the driver briefly regained control. The driver of the Customs vehicle managed to get the truck back on the road, but as these skid marks suggest, the vehicle swerved back into Dr. Can's lane, and ended up inside this drain, near a culvert.
The lawmen ended up suffering varying degrees of injures, but Dr. Can's car was a complete wreck. Police say that they found his body in the driver's seat; he was trapped behind the steering wheel.
Jesus Can - Brother of the Deceased
"On my way we did stop at the scene of the accident. I am not a scenes of crime technician, but from what I observed, from the angle of the impact on my brother's car exactly at the door of the car and then the drivers' side totally not damaged, exactly the door. The angle of the impact is telling me a lot who did the collision."
At the exact location where the Hilux ended up overturned, we found a broken rear-view mirror, several empty beer bottles, and a container of hand sanitizer. It's possible that the beer bottles were there before the accident, but it also lines up with reliable reports to 7News that the driver of the Hilux refused to provide a urine sample for testing as part of the investigation into this traffic accident.
And while the Can family lost a loved one last night, the Orange Walk District also lost a COVID front-line hero.
Jesus Can - Brother of the Deceased
"In his post as a medical professional he took his responsibilities very serios. He was first working at the KHMH in Belize City, then he was transferred here to the Northern Regional Hospital. All during this pandemic time he was all around the Orange Walk District getting across this vaccine to all the communities from all areas within the Orange Walk District."
Dr. Manuel Estrada
"Doctor Jose was employed to work with the vaccination campaign and since then he has been working with the vaccination campaign. He is a person who takes his work serious and somebody that is outgoing. He is somebody that is very responsible and he was somebody that would be there always whenever you needed, supported."
Dr. Can's family tells us that he leaves behind a wife and 2 young children. So, we now look at the uncomfortable allegations surrounding this accident. The family of the deceased has asserted to our news team that residents of San Felipe Village say that this anti-contraband enforcement team was consuming alcohol shortly before the accident.
We contacted the Comptroller of Customs for comment, and she told us that this team was on official law enforcement business. She said that the officer who was driving the vehicle is a consummate professional and that this allegation, without evidence, is not credible.
We have confirmed with police that he did refuse to give a blood or urine sample for testing, and initial indications are that he will face a criminal charge for that. Police also say that they have written witness testimony to back-up reports on the scene that Dr. Can appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. There was the suggestion that Dr. Can was struggling to operate his vehicle.
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