Mon | Dec 2, 2024

Pedestrians warned of toll road trespass

Audley Gordon cautioned for prosecution in fatal crash

Published:Monday | January 31, 2022 | 12:10 AMRasbert Turner/Gleaner Writer
Audley Gordon, executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority.
Audley Gordon, executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority.

In the wake of a fatal crash near Linstead, St Catherine, on Saturday, the police have warned pedestrians not to trespass on toll roads.

Audley Gordon, the executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), is the subject of a police investigation following the death of a pedestrian.

The deceased has been identified as Donovan Mignott, a mechanic of Treadways district in St Catherine.

Gordon was driving his Toyota Prado SUV along the toll road when the crash occurred about 5 p.m.

The NSWMA executive director underwent a breathalyser test and has been cautioned for prosecution. He declined comment when contacted by The Gleaner on Sunday.

Mignott was reportedly walking on the pavement along the thoroughfare, which has signs erected at various junctures prohibiting animals and humans on foot from crossing.

‘’Bwoy, sometimes along the road at high speed you have to swerve from people crossing the road. They simply ignore the signs and often see the road as a shortcut. This can be a deadly mistake, which leaves people in sadness and inconvenience,’’ Marcus Johnson, a motorist, said on Sunday.

A senior member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Traffic Department echoed the need for adherence to the Toll Regulations.

He emphasised that despite the trespass, the police are still conducting an investigation into the matter.

There have been four road crash fatalities in the St Catherine North Police Division this month.

As at January 28, thirty persons were killed in 24 crashes, the Road Safety Unit reported on Friday.

The incidence of deadly crashes has decreased by four per cent while fatalities increased by three per cent when compared with the similar period in 2021.

rasbert.turner@gleanerjm.com