Warning for motorists as four die in Palisadoes crash
Published:Monday | December 12, 2022 | 5:23 AM
A two-vehicle crash that claimed the lives of four Jamaicans and injured two Russians on the Palisadoes main road in Kingston has triggered a warning from Superintendent Tomilee Chambers, head of the Kingston Eastern Police Division.
The thoroughfare links the capital city to the Norman Manley International Airport and Port Royal.
“We are now in the festive season. It is best to leave for wherever you are going an hour or half-hour early. That way, you do not have to speed,” Chambers said in a Gleaner interview.
“There are families looking forward to spending the festive season together instead of mourning tragedies. Just be careful on the road and cut your speed,” she added.
The incident, which occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, involved a Toyota Probox motor car and a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUV.
Two men and two women who were travelling in the Probox died as a result of injuries they sustained, while the Russians, a father and daughter, were treated at hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the Probox has since been identified as Delroy Grant of a Waterford address in St Catherine, while the male Russian is said to be an employee of a local bauxite company.
The Gleaner was informed that the deceased had to be cut from the mangled Probox by firefighters who responded. The driver of one of the vehicles reportedly lost control, which resulted in it drifting from its lane into the other vehicle.
Up to press time Sunday, the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Corporate Communications Unit said that details surrounding the crash remained unclear.
Between January 1 and December 11 this year, at least 448 persons died from more than 380 motor-vehicle collisions.
In 2021, there were 487 road fatalities, the highest number on record.
The Road Traffic Act, 2018 and the Road Traffic Regulations, 2022 are slated to be implemented in February 2023.
The announcement came on Thursday from Transport and Mining Minister Audley Shaw, who said that the “legislation will aid in curbing indiscipline in the traffic environment and will see motorists facing tough sanctions for breaching the rules”.