Belize: Man loses leg after severe motorcycle crash on George Price Highway

Belize: A 29-year-old man from Camalote Village was hospitalised after being seriously injured, including the loss of a leg, in a motorcycle accident along the George Price Highway on Wednesday, May 20.

The victim has been identified as 29-year-old Adrian Gerald Banner Jr., a resident of Camalote Village.

According to police reports, the incident took place on Wednesday, at a curved section of the George Price Highway between miles 52 and 53, near Teakettle Village and Roaring Creek. Reportedly, the incident occurred when the victim Banner was riding his black Lifan 200cc dirt bike and was heading westbound.

The initial police reports claim that the victim was traveling west toward Teakettle Village, when he overtook three vehicles by leaving his own lane on a curve which were moving in the same direction. 

Once he was ahead of the other vehicles, he tried to return back to his own lane during which he allegedly lost his control over the vehicle and slammed heavily into the highway's iron railing. Following the crash, the victim was thrown across the pavement and tumbled heavily into the highway’s aluminum guardrail barrier, which sliced off his right leg upon impact. 

The nearby people then immediately contacted the officers and emergency personnel who on arrival discovered the severely injured man sitting on the roadside. The medical officers then checked him and found that he sustained injuries including a dismembered right leg and multiple abrasions to his body and head, responding to which they gave him urgent first aid to control the bleeding.

After that the victim was transported to the Western Regional Hospital for medical treatment, by ambulance, where he is still receiving treatment and recovering. Since then the officers attached to Belize Defence Force (BDF) have launched their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. 

During the initial investigation, the eyewitnesses reported to the officers that the wheel may have compromised his control as he rounded the corner. The officers also noted that the sudden mechanical failure caused the man to lose total control of the bike and crash it on the iron railing.