Two perish as bus overturns in Westmoreland
Published:Thursday | July 28, 2022 | 12:11 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE WESTMORELAND police and residents were left searching for answers after the deaths of two women and injury of more than 20 others when a public passenger vehicle in which they were travelling plunged down a hillside along the Seaford Town main road in Westmoreland Wednesday.
The crash occurred shortly after 7 a.m.
The deceased have been identified as 23-year-old Yasmin Nickesha Kerr, a nurse of Dundee district, and 32-year-old Meleisia Ricketts, a housekeeper of Berkshire district, both in Westmoreland.
Both victims died on the spot.
The others, including the driver, sustained injuries and were rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, for treatment.
Five of them were considered to have life-threatening injuries.
Tuesday’s crash is the second double-death and mass-casualty tragedy in four days, following Sunday morning’s head-on collision between a Toyota Coaster bus and a Toyota Hiace minibus along the Llandovery main road in St Ann.
In the meantime, the police combed the scene for clues.
“We are currently not sure of the cause of the accident. We don’t know if it was mechanical difficulties, or if it was human error, but the investigation that immediately follows will determine that,” commanding officer in charge of Westmoreland, Senior Superintendent of Police Wayne Jacobs, shared with The Gleaner at the scene.
Reports by the Bethel Town police indicate that the driver of the passenger bus, which plies the Berkshire district to Montego Bay route, lost control of the vehicle while travelling easterly and ran off the road.
Jacobs described the situation as “very sad and unfortunate”.
The senior cop confirmed that about 25 passengers were aboard the bus.