One dead, three battling for life following Annotto Bay crash

Buff Bay, Portland:

One person was killed and up to press time last night another three were battling for life at the Annotto Bay Hospital, following a two-vehicle collision along the Buff Bay main road, near Woodstock in Portland, shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday in which 10 persons were injured.

The police, who have confirmed the incident, have not yet released the identity of the deceased or those admitted to hospital in critical condition.

The sex of the deceased and the injured was also not confirmed up to press time.

According to the police, a Toyota Wish taxi, heading easterly towards Buff Bay, along with a Toyota Corolla, heading in the opposite direction, collided at Woodstock, leaving 10 people seriously injured.

Dead on arrival

The injured persons from both vehicles were rushed to hospital, where one man was pronounced dead on arrival. Three other persons, including two men and a woman, were rushed to the operating theatre immediately. Up to last night, they were undergoing emergency surgery.

The condition of the other six victims was not considered to be life threatening.

The police have theorised that speeding was the main contributing factor to the accident, and it is against that background that the lawmen are again appealing to motorists to adhere to the prescribe speed limit along the roadway.

A call is again being made for the Buff Bay Health Centre, which once operated as a hospital facility, to again be upgraded to a Type C hospital - capable of dealing with accident and emergency cases.

This recent call comes from businessman Paul 'Bigga' Young, who operates a small-loan facility and furniture store.

"Travelling approximately 10 miles to Annotto Bay in a life-saving move can result in death," said Young.

"It could very well be that if the Buff Bay Health Centre was upgraded to hospital status, a life might have been saved. But the time it took to transfer the injured by vehicle from Woodstock, which is less than a mile, to Annotto Bay is a recipe for disaster," he added.