Third Victim Dies Following Deadly Cruise Excursion Crashes in Belize

Yesterday we blogged that two American citizens had lost their lives in a tragic vehicle collision in Belize. Now, major news outlets are reporting that another American has died in a separate vehicle crash in the country.

DallasNews.com reports that the victims were all North Texas residents. Two of the victims, Adrian and Sara Armijo of Grand Prairie, Texas, were killed on Wednesday as they were traveling in a minibus on an excursion from the Carnival Vista cruise ship. Published reports indicate that the bus was struck by a Chevy SUV which was attempting to overtake another vehicle, causing a head-on collision. In all, seven people were killed in that crash.

About 24 hours after the crash that killed the Armijos, 77-year-old Carolyn Gillis of Dallas was killed in a separate vehicle crash in Belize as she, too, was on an excursion from a cruise ship. WFAA.com reports that the crash occurred on Thanksgiving Day at about 3:45 pm when Gillis was taking a shore excursion from the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas Ship cruise ship. The driver of the red Ford Freestyle van in which Gillis was traveling lost control and rolled the vehicle several times, killing Gillis and leaving her husband and children bruised. Gillis was traveling with six family members on the cruise.

The WFAA.com report indicates that the driver of the vehicle, Henry W. Gillett, reported that a tire blowout led to the crash.