Geon Hanson
Well-known Belizean cyclist Geon Hanson remains in critical condition tonight after being knocked down by a commuter bus along the George Price Highway this morning. Hanson, who was on routine physical training along the circuit, was rear-ended by the vehicle while riding his bicycle in the vicinity of mile thirty-eight. According to Deon Leslie, president of the Belize Cycling Association, the near-fatal accident is a tragic reminder that motorists and cyclists alike should pay careful attention to traffic when traversing the highways.
Deon Leslie, President, Belize Cycling Association
Deon Leslie
“I was informed early this morning that one of the cyclists, Mister Geon Hanson who rides with Capital City Cycling Club, better known as C-four, was involved in a traffic accident this morning around miles thirty-eight on the George Price Highway. Apparently reports are that he was training when he was ran into by a bus and the impact, he broke the windshield of the bus, dented the bus and was flung some feet into a ditch off the side of the road. Thank goodness apparently he landed in mud and water which cushioned the impact. Last word is that he is right now in the O.T. at the K.H.M.H. undergoing surgery. Apparently he ruptured his spleen and he has heavy internal bleeding. So we are all just praying, hoping for the best. Geon is one of the up and coming cyclists. He is classified as an under-twenty-three. He won the Krem Classic the other day and so he is one of the future stars in cycling. So this is a tragic mishap for us on Christmas Eve. My prayers go out to the family, his friends, everyone in the cycling community—I know we are all in prayers together because he is one of us. I heed warning to all motorists, all pedestrians. For cyclists this is where we train, this is where we race; so you will see cyclists. Of course we are going into the middle of the cycling season now with the big races coming up—the Krem Classic first of all and then we have the Cross Country, we have the road Championship and all the other races. So you will see a lot more cyclists on the road training. But not only cyclists training, you will also see other everyday citizens out there exercising. When the dry season comes that’s when you start to see the heavy influx of people on the road. So we ask motorists to proceed with caution. 
The law is when you see a cyclist; three feet. But we understand the road conditions and similar we ask our cyclists to train with caution as well. The sunrise isn’t until quarter pass six every morning now and that is too late for cyclists to be on the road. So they leave home at four-thirty, five o’clock, five-thirty and so we ask them similarly to take precaution, wear your reflectors, have your lights on, be aware of your surroundings, be aware on oncoming traffic. We know the roads aren’t the best right now because of the rains; some of the road conditions aren’t where we would like it to be, but the road is for everyone. We ask motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to share and be cautious of each other.”
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