33-Year-Old Woman Killed in Motorcycle Collision on Phillip Goldson Highway

A Sunday evening ride turned tragic on the Phillip Goldson Highway when thirty-three-year-old Delty Cordova lost her life in a motorcycle collision near Trial Farm Village. Cordova was among a group of motorcycle club members traveling from Corozal to Orange Walk when a minor, reportedly without a license, made a sudden turn, causing the fatal crash. Cordova took her last breath on the pavement. She recently joined a motorcycle club and upgraded to a larger bike than the ones she had been riding before. But, her sister told News Five, that the accident that claimed her life was the fault of a reckless driver. News Five’s Paul Lopez tells us more.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Another tragic motorcycle accident has claimed the life of a thirty-three-year-old woman, leaving her family in mourning tonight. Delty Cordova was riding with a group of motorcycle enthusiasts on Sunday evening, heading from Corozal to Orange Walk, when the unthinkable happened. A sixteen-year-old, driving a motorcycle with an eighteen-year-old passenger, slammed into the bike Cordova was on. The deadly collision unfolded along the Phillip Goldson Highway in Trial Farm Village.

 

ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer

“What the ongoing investigation has thus far revealed is that Cordova was the passenger rider on a motorcycle driven by one Jarret Banks. And the other cycle was driven by a sixteen-year-old minor who was accompanied by an eighteen-year-old Nelson Chuck. It is reported that the minor was driving the cycle from the direction of San Jose Village to trial farm, and he was on the far right of the road, and it is alleged that he made a sudden turn to the left without giving any indication, and this caused Mr. Banks who was traveling in the same direction to collide. Into the rear of that cycle resulted in the injuries and the death of Ms. Cordova.”

 

News Five spoke with Delty’s sister, Jess Cordova. She says Delty has always shown interest in riding motorbikes. She only started taking her hobby seriously a couple of months ago. One of Delty’s final videos captures her riding along the highway from Corozal, completely unaware of the tragedy that awaited her.

 

On the Phone: Jess Cordova, Sister of Deceased

“She just started, maybe like two months the most. She just start get into that. She had her motorbike. It is when she went to the think in Hopkins that she really got into liking cycle. All I would want them to have justice. I know there won’t be justice. But I believe in one God and one day the person who caused this accident will talk and give in himself. She was innocent and one craziness that this young boy was doing caused this accident. And, I hear that he was saying I am sorry, I am sorry. That is all he was telling my sister. But, my sister could not do anything. She was right there taking her last breath and the ambulance take long and she died right there on the spot.”

 

According to ASP Stacy Smith, the minor did not have a permit to drive the motorcycle. Authorities detained both of them.

 

ASP Stacy Smith

“Police have detained the individuals in this in incident. And a notice of intended prosecution have been served on the minor, and the adult in this case was also detained for permitting a person to drive without a valid driver’s license. I have no indication on the face of this report whether a sample was taken from them.”

 

Motorcycle accidents have dominated national discussions in recent weeks. Policymakers are now racing to find solutions to curb these crashes and prevent more lives from being lost. This latest fatal accident underscores the urgent need for a solution. But, in this case, Cordova contends that her sister and the driver of that cycle were not at fault.

 

On the Phone: Jess Cordova

“I see she post a video on her Whatsapp, because people say that she was driving. She was not driving the cycle. It was another person driving and that video shows the helmet of the person in front of her and when she passed the phone. So, she was never the driver.”

 

Cordova says her sister’s loss is taking a toll on their elderly father. She is tonight imploring motorcyclists to be more vigilant on the road.

 

On the Phone Jess Cordova

“My advice is to just be careful and know how to drive. They need to know how to have their limits. Yes motorcycles is something that gives you a hype, but try because you have other drivers beside you. You have to think for other drivers, not only yourself. I would appreciate all those drivers be careful out there. Because, it is sad to hear motorcyclist they just go like that and young people are the most ones.”

 

Jess Cardova says that based on all accounts, her sister was not consuming alcohol on the day she lost her life. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.