OLD HARBOUR, St Catherine — Operators of Highway 2000, who have started cementing sections of the toll road’s fence into place, are hoping this will prevent thieves from hauling away huge chunks of the chain-link material.

More than 500 metres of the fence has been stolen since the highway was opened on September 24, they said — 200 metres of which was removed the night before 24 year-old Patrick Howell died when his car collided with a black cow that had strayed onto the roadway.

Howell, a 24 year-old employee of the Jamaica Public Service Company’s Old Harbour location, was from New Green District in Manchester.

According to the Old Harbour police, the accident occurred at about 8:32 pm. Howell, cops said, was travelling in his black Toyota Levin motor car when, upon reaching a bridge in the vicinity of the Old British Caribbean Cable Complex, he collided with the cow.

The vehicle then rolled over into a ditch.

Howell was removed from the car and taken, via ambulance, to the Spanish Town Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Yesterday, highway officials directly linked the fatal accident to the stolen fence.

“This tragedy shows that there are ruthless criminals out there willing to risk the lives of others just for a piece of fence,” said Trevor Jackson, managing director of Trans Jamaica Highways, the 35-year concessionaire.

“It is a daily occurrence. They attach the fence to heavy-duty vehicles and drag down sections,” Jackson added. “The night before the accident they stole over 200 metres of fencing.”

There have also been instances where the fence, which was erected to keep out pedestrians and stray animals, was cut to allow people to walk onto the highway. Days after the toll road opened, a toddler crawled through one of these holes and narrowly missed being run over.

Yesterday, Jackson did not speak specifically to this problem but said some sections of the stolen fence have now been repaired and cemented into place. He could not say exactly how much the vandalism and repairs was costing the company, but he described it as “a considerable amount”.

Spare fencing, which the company always has available, he added, had been used to effect interim repairs after Wednesday night’s accident; and before 11:00 am yesterday contractors began repairing the fence which had been vandalised in four separate sections Tuesday night.

And he was confident that they would find a solution to the theft problem.

“We are going to cement the bottom of the fence. We will catch them and stop this,” Jackson said.