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Joined: Oct 1999
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29 year old Belize City Councilor Andrew Faber was killed along with two others in a traffic accident today.

It happened on the Placencia Road after midday. Faber was driving his maroon and gray L200 pickup truck with passengers, 26 year old Virginia Azueta - who is a visiting relative - and a friend, 27 year old Gianni Taylor.

He lost control between miles four and five and the truck overturned and landed on the shoulder of the highway which was flooded due to heavy rains. Police say it was a ditch containing about four feet of water. These pictures taken by Placencia chairman Charles Leslie Jr show the truck after it was hoisted out of the water and put back on its wheels.

Police add that all three persons received severe head and body injuries and died on the spot - while others tell us they may have drowned from being submerged in the ditch. It is not known if they heavy rains on the peninsula for the 12 hours preceding the accident may have been a complication with road conditions - but there are skid marks on the road about 300 feet form where the accident happened.

The tragic triple fatality has devastated their families - including Education Minister Patrick Faber, who was Andrew's elder brother, and the person who brought him into politics.

Also wracked with grief are Faber's fellow councilors. He was elected in 2009 and had responsibility for youth, Sports and After-School Programmes. Today we spoke to four other councilors elected in that 2009 slate and they reminisced about their colleague and contemporary:..

Dion Leslie, City Councillor
"Just disbelief. We were together on Friday and Saturday at the multicultural fair, we were hanging out, laughing, and we paraded together, so when I got the news it was just disbelief. Andrew is like a brother to me and can say we all miss him very much."

Kevin Singh, City Councillor
"I was in a state of shock, I couldn't belief it same way. I didn't belief any how until I got here and everybody was saying that Andrew really died and then I heard it on the news a while ago confirming that he was dead. He was so happy at the multicultural fair on Saturday; he was just messing around with everybody. He sat right next to me so I will be one that will miss him very much because we are always here messing around."

Roger Espejo, City Councillor
"As you know Andrew was one of the youngest councilor in the room. Perhaps one the youngest councilors ever elected and it's just a very sad day here at the council certainly a very sad day for his family. We extend our most heartfelt condolences to Minister Faber, his mother, his wife, his children. He was a family man. The youngest man in the room and he was a family man and it's just a tragic day for us."

Dion Leslie, City Councillor
"Us five, myself, Roger, Kevin, Eric and Andrew - we came into the council together as the new comers, so that was a bond that forms from long before because we came in and we stood together - we were the 5 new guys on the block and we had to learn, we stayed together and we learnt and became like brothers."

Eric Chang, City Councillor
"He is just like my brother. He always entertains everybody. At this point I can't even speak. I'll miss Andrew very much."

The mayor was also deeply saddened. She considered Faber an important ally that she could count on to carry through a vote in a council that is known to be divided.

But for her, the grief is doubled because, of the other victims, Gianni Taylor was also her close friend and former intern at the council.

Mayor Zenaida Moya
"Andrew and I - I must say for a while we have become very close. He is one of my strongest allies in the council. A lot of things have been able to go through I must say because of his support. I didn't know that he would be driving around also with Gianni. She went to Pallotti and she graduated and she recently done an internship at City Hall - she had called me and I told her that she could do her internship here."

"She is such a loving person. She would just call sometimes to wish me a happy day or tell me that I look good on TV. Both of them are so young. It just goes to show that you have to cherish life every step of the way, so of course condolences to the entire Faber family - Patrick and of course. And of course to the other individual who was kill also - who were their cousin. Condolences to all of you."

The bodies were taken to the Southern Regional Hospital in Dangriga and will presumably be brought to Belize City for post mortem examinations.

Channel 7


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City Council mourns loss of Councilor Faber in accident

Dion Leslie

Undoubtedly, the tragedy has rocked the families of the accident victims as well as Faber's colleagues at City Hall and his friends in the United Democratic Party. The loss also hit close to home here at Channel Five where Gianni Taylor was the daughter of a staff member and a regular visitor. News Five this afternoon spoke with councilors Deon Leslie and Roger Espejo who both shared personal and professional memories of working with Faber.

Dion Leslie, Belize City Councilor

"One of the fondest memories I've ever had of Andrew was this weekend right here when we were marching together in the Tenth Parade this Saturday and after that we went to the Multicultural Fair together and we were just hanging around having fun. Andrew was having the time of his life; in fact, I looked at him and said "you di have fun noh?" And he looked at me and said "I'm having the best time of my life right now" He really enjoyed life up to its very end I know that. Professionally Andrew was one of the people you can count on. When you called him he would be there. When you needed help with something he would be there. You needed help with any of the projects you had he would come and assist you and vice versa. When he had his tournaments, basketball tournaments we were there for him."

Isani Cayetano

Roger Espejo

"Councilor Espejo talk to us a bit about the career in politics that you guys both shared. I know you guys entered on the same ticket several years ago for the Belize City Council. Talk to us a bit about the time you spent with him professionally."

Roger Espejo, Belize City Councilor

"The little time that we spent together for the past two years is filled with fond memories of Andrew Faber. He had a jovial attitude about him that never failed. We have mulled over hard decisions at the council, easy decisions-all sorts of issues-but he was always one to have a very jovial, a very high-spirited demeanor about him regardless of whatever issue we dealt with or tackled at the council. Coming in two years ago was a happy time for us because we won the election. From the very get go, Andrew had this spirit about him; a very positive spirit that we wanted to get things done. He was a fighter for young people-himself being a young councilor; perhaps the youngest ever elected and he had no problem in representing that. He got involved in many initiatives that are for and about young people whether it be sporting activities, his street tournaments-that kind of thing."

Andrew Faber was the Councilor Responsible for Youth and Sports at City Hall.

Channel 5


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City Councilor to be laid to rest

Andrew Faber

Family, friends and colleagues are mourning the untimely death of Councilor Andrew Faber. The young councilor was killed in a tragic accident on the Placencia Road at around noon when he was returning to Belize City. The Councilor is the brother of the Minister of Education and Sports, Patrick Faber. Two other persons perished in the accident: Faber's visiting cousin Virginia Ozaeta and Gianni Taylor, who is well-known to our staff. Faber will be laid to rest this Friday. His body will transported from the KHMH morgue at noon and received at St John's Cathedral at one o'clock for viewing.

Gianni Taylor

Services begin at two o'clock. Funeral services for Taylor will be held at two o'clock at St Mary's Church also on Friday. Azueta will be returned to the United States for burial. There was another accident on Sunday that also turned fatal. It happened between miles seventy-one and seventy two on the Northern Highway in the village of San Roman. Twenty-one year old Antonio Correa was hit by a van driven by Adrian Yah as he crossed the highway. Correa was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he died on Tuesday of massive brain hemorrhage.

Channel 5


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Andrew Faber's Funeral

The funeral for City Councilor Andrew Faber was held today at the St. John's Anglican Cathedral in Belize City - and it was more than a funeral, it was an event.

IT started at noon, when fellow councilors, city staff, friends and family led a procession through the streets from the morgue to the Church.

The funeral service started at noon, where the church was filled to capacity - with overflow in the garden. Countless ministers of government - including the Prime Minister, and what would be called the UDP family joined friends and dignitaries as they crowded into the church hall and the grounds to be a part of the funeral for the well-liked 29 year old councilor. His eulogy was read by Kevin Harris and the pall-bearers included his brother, Minister of Education, Patrick Faber, Herbert Panton and Raindrops Swan.

After the body was taken out of the church, the procession proceeded down Albert Street against the flow of traffic - with Faber and other councilors taking the lead behind the hearse. Onlookers lined up throughout the route to see the procession.

Faber was killed along with two passengers, Virginia Azueta and Gianni Taylor in an accident on the Placencia Road on Tuesday afternoon. He lost control of the L200 he was driving and the vehicle flipped, landing in a flooded ditch on the side of the road.

Channel 7



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