Man held for fatal jet ski accident released

Karrie Williams, Gleaner Writer

Western Bureau:

The man the Negril police took into custody yesterday in connection with the death of American tourist Tomas Torres Castillo, who was killed in a jet ski accident on Tuesday, was released without charge after being questioned.

Since then, the police have identified another person of interest, but according to a senior officer at the Negril Police Station, efforts to contact the individual have proven futile.

"We have identified an individual who we believe was the rider of the jet ski …. We have been trying to locate him ... . We know his address, but when we went to his home, he was not there," the officer added.

Castillo was killed while swimming at the Travellers Beach Resort where he was on vacation with his wife, Maria. Based on reports, the jet ski did not stop after slamming into the visitor.

Yesterday, tourism stakeholders in the resort town, who met to discuss the accident, expressed disgust and bemoaned the fact that, despite the many measures that have been proposed for monitoring jet skis, the fatal accident has still occurred.

DISAPPOINTED

"We are really shocked and disappointed," said Daniel Grizzle, proprietor of Charella Inn Resort. "After we have spent so much time and effort in bringing this situation to the attention of the authorities and have asked for something solid to be done, it has now come to this … . It is only luck why we don't have more deaths than we actually have."

In the aftermath of Tuesday's accident, stakeholders in Negril have renewed their call for the establishment of a hospital to readily handle emergency matters.

"In a resort town where we have people coming from all over the world, we need emergency services," said Elaine Bradley, a retired intensive-care nurse. "We can save a life in the first few minutes after an accident if you have first responders who are trained or qualified."

Last August, six-year-old Tonoya Hyman was killed when a runaway jet ski, which was being driven by a tourist, got out of control and mowed her down. Her four-year-old sister was also injured.

That incident prompted the Ministry of Tourism to institute a six-month ban on the importation of jet skis last October.