WESTERN BUREAU — Pauline White, a 37 year-old resident of Calabar, Trelawny was killed and nine others injured when a Nissan pick-up truck in which they were travelling plunged over a 40-foot precipice on the Alps mainroad, early yesterday morning.

According to the police at about 5:20 am George Stephenson, 38, a farmer of Calabar, was driving his Nissan pick-up truck registered 1329DM along the Alps mainroad towards Jackson Town. Stephenson complained that the steering felt “loose”.

The police said shortly afterwards, Stephenson lost control of the vehicle, which swerved to the left, hit a retaining wall and plunged over a gully.

White and the nine other persons were taken to the Falmouth General Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Three of the nine were admitted with broken limbs and other serious injuries.

The others were treated and released.

Junior Morrison, who was among those travelling on the pick-up told the Observer that they were on their way from a wake in the Rock Spring area of the parish when the accident occurred.

“We were coming from the ‘singing’ for one of our friends who was killed in a motor vehicle accident and is to be buried today (Sunday),” Morrison said. “The driver was driving slowly because the road is very bad and the area was dark and foggy.”

According to Morrison, when the truck hit the retaining wall it broke away and the vehicle “started to roll down the gully”. Morrison said.

He said, he managed to jump off before the pick-up went over.

“It is still like a dream to me, I saw the van (pick-up) rolling down the gully rolling over the people who were thrown from it,” he said. “Then I heard people shouting in the bushes: ‘help me! help me!'”

He explained that because the area was dark and foggy it was very difficult to see the occupants of the vehicle.

Some of them, he said, however managed to climb up the steep gully with the help of others while at least one person was pinned under the vehicle.

Morrison said White was thrown from the vehicle when it hit the retaining wall.

“When the van hit the wall, Pauline drop off and broke her neck,” Morrison said.