Three die in Hanover, Westmoreland crashes
Published:Monday | November 7, 2022 | 12:08 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THREE PERSONS died and three others were injured in separate road crashes in western Jamaica over the weekend.
Those killed have been identified as 42-year-old Shermaine Brown, a pharmacist assistant of Orange Bay, Hanover; 56-year-old Lorne Gray of Kingwood in Savanna-la-Mar; and 47-year-old Rohan Stephen, a bike taxi operator of Little Bay, Westmoreland.
Reports from the Green Island police in Hanover are that approximately 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Brown was among persons travelling easterly in a Toyota Noah minibus.
On reaching a section of the Salt Creek main road, the driver of a Toyota Premio motor car reportedly veered on to the opposite side of the road and collided with the Noah bus.
Brown and two other passengers, O’Neil Blair, a lifeguard of Big Bridge district, and Stephanie Knight, housekeeper of Orange Bay, Hanover, sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the Savanna-la-Mar Public Hospital where Brown was pronounced dead. Blair and Knight were admitted in serious condition.
The driver of the Premio motor car, who is still unidentified, also sustained injuries and was taken to the Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover, where he, too, was admitted.
Gray and Stephen were crushed to death after the motorcycle on which they were travelling collided with a truck along the Broughton main road in Westmoreland on Friday.
It was reported that at about 11:30 a.m. Stephen, who operates a bike taxi service, picked up Gray and was travelling behind a multi-coloured International truck.
On reaching the Old Hope main road intersection, Stephen allegedly attempted to overtake the truck, which immediately turned right. The motorcyclist and his pillion reportedly crashed into the right side of the truck. Both victims were overrun by the truck.
Brown is the 26th victim to be killed in a traffic crash in Hanover since the start of the year, while 46 people have perished in road accidents in Westmoreland in 2022.
Crash fatalities in Area One, the police zone covering western Jamaica, are at a six-year high at 120, eight more than were registered in the Road Safety Unit’s quarterly report.