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New road causes concern - Fourteen injured in bloody Sunday morning crash
May 14, 2019
The new multimillion-dollar road from Mackfield to Ferris, in Westmoreland, was the scene of a major accident last Saturday morning, which resulted in 14 persons being injured, eight seriously, and extensive damage to the vehicle in which they were travelling.
The roadway, which was recently paved, has been creating much anxiety for both passengers travelling that route and the police, because of excessive speeding by motorists, especially minibus operators.
"De bus driver dem nah tek time pon de road, everybody speeding," an eyewitness to the accident told the WESTERN STAR. "Me seh mi was driving behind de man (the bus driver) and mi just see when de bus fly offa de road. So mi stop and rush go help tek out the people dem ... blood everywhere."
The eyewitness added: "De driver dem fi know seh a people dem a carry, so dem fi ease down pon de reckless driving and de people dem a idiot fe siddung inna de vehicle dem and a mek dem drive dem suh."
According to reports, shortly after 5:30 a.m., David Harris was transporting passengers from Savanna-la-Mar to Montego Bay in his white Toyota Hiace minibus.
On reaching a section of the Mackfield main road, Harris lost control of the vehicle, which ran off the road, fell into a ditch and overturned.
The 14 passengers, eight women and six men, were trapped in the vehicle. With the help of passing motorists, they were pulled from the vehicle.
Four men and four women who were seriously injured, were rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, where they were admitted.
The driver of the vehicle and the six other passengers, who sustained minor injuries, were treated at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital.
Since the start of the year, Westmoreland has figured prominently in traffic accidents.
The 13 fatalities in 14 accidents is the highest number of deaths for any one parish. During this same period last year, the parish had six deaths from six road accidents and ended the year with 50 persons being killed in 42 traffic accidents.
