Tonight, 4 families in the north are mourning the loss of loved ones in traffic fatalities. One man was killed in an accident yesterday afternoon near Trinidad Village and by 9:00 pm - three more would be dead in a collision with highway infrastructure.

Jomarie Lanza spoke to a family member today - and we investigated if dark road conditions are to blame:

Last night at 9:00 pm, this minivan was heading towards the San Estevan roundabout when it hit the concrete island dividing the two lanes. The sent it into a series of flips and when it landed. the driver, 40 year old Nehmias Cantun, and his two passengers, 19 year old Victor Tamay and 25 year old Pedro Mendez had been violently flung unto the pavement to their deaths.

Today, Mendez's mother spoke to us off camera:

Marleny Cawich, Mother of deceased
"He was such a happy person, he loved to hunt and fish. When he would come he would be shooting pigeons, he would come to fish with his dad. Wherever he went there was happiness. He stayed in patchakan with his wife and child and his in-laws, he never had a problem there with his in-laws. I think he's been there with his in-laws for five years up to his last days he lived there. He never got into any trouble with them. He was very stable with his wife; they never separated, they were always together. Wherever he went he was always trustworthy."

"I love all my children I have 6 kids and he was my oldest and I always told them how much I loved them it doesn't matter what age they were, they continue to be my children, I will always continue to scold them and advise them and they will always have my love."

Many in the public are blaming the accident on dark road conditions at the roundabout and insufficient signage. But the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing rejects that. Today the Chief Engineer told us that the signs and reflectors were just replaced at the roundabout in December. He spoke to us via Zoom:

Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"I understand that the vehicle was traveling from the northbound approach into the roundabout, which is coming from from Corozal and collided into the Splitter island, going into the roundabout at San Estevan. From our vantage point, based on the work that we're doing, both on San Estevan Road and also on the Orange Walk Town bypass."

"And we were also paving the San Estevan Road, that junction, we installed all road safety signs at that intersection in December. So it has all the chevron signs, it has the slow down sign, as you approach the roundabout, it has the roundabout sign, it has the pedestrian ramp sign. And so from what we saw on the images that we received from our people on the ground is that right at the approach to the roundabout where there is a pedestrian ramp the vehicle veered off into the splitter island going left, as if though they were making a left hand turn into San Estevan rather than going around the roundabout. So we're not sure if it's as a result of speeding or not or any other issues that may have resulted in the accident, but, we are cognizant of the fact that a number of accidents has occurred at that junction in the last month or so. And so what the ministry had asked me through CEO was to see if we could install some lights at that roundabout."

"I personally does not really believe that it's a result of illumination because that roundabout was designed and constructed in 2005 and I was also part of the team that did those works on that roundabout. And so that roundabout has been there for the last 19 years without any illumination. And it's just recently these accidents are starting to occur."

Moody says the ministry is in the process of lighting up the roundabout.