Two dead, four injured in chain of Lilliput accidents
Published:Tuesday | December 13, 2022 | 1:27 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Two men were left dead and four others hospitalised after a series of accidents along the Lilliput main road in St James on Sunday night.
In the first of three accidents, a man identified as 38-year-old Linval Griffiths is believed to have been the victim of a hit-and-run accident after being struck by a vehicle near the Barrett Town intersection.
About 9:30 p.m., four males were later travelling in a white Toyota Mark X motorcar towards Falmouth, according to the Barrett Town police, when upon reaching the area, the vehicle ran over Griffiths’ body, which was still lying along the roadway.
The car then hit a tree before crashing into a shop.
The four occupants of the vehicle were taken to the hospital, where they were admitted.
Around 1 o’clock on Monday morning, 19-year-old Shawn Williams was also stuck along the Lilliput main road while attempting to cross the thoroughfare in the vicinity of Bamboo Lawn.
The driver of the ill-fated vehicle drove to the Falmouth Police Station some 13 kilometres away and a stone’s throw away from the hospital, where the matter was reported.
The police officers then drove to the scene and transported Williams to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
There has been a dramatic increase in road fatalities and collisions in western Jamaica this year.
Between January 1 and December 12, a total of 127 road accidents have been reported across Hanover, St James, Trelawny and Westmoreland, resulting in 155 fatalities, 15 more than for the corresponding period in 2021.
The Area One Accident Reconstruction Unit has also reported that five fatal accidents have occurred in Hanover and St James this month, claiming five lives.