FIVE people, including a female driver, were injured yesterday after a five-vehicle collision along the Mandela Highway, in the vicinity of Ferry in St Catherine.

Two were treated at the Spanish Town Hospital and released, while the other three, including the female driver who was said to be in critical condition, were yesterday awaiting transfers to two Kingston hospitals.

“One will be admitted to the Orthopaedic Unit at the University Hospital, and the other two will be sent to the Kingston Public Hospital, where they have been accepted,” according to Dr David Dobson of the Spanish Town Hospital. A 15 year-old boy was said to be among the three to be transferred.

The bus driver involved in yesterday’s accident fled the scene following the crash but was later taken to the Ferry Police Station by the bus owner. He was issued a warrant and was booked to appear in court next week.

The Ferry police reported that at approximately 6:00 yesterday morning, a speeding public passenger Toyota Coaster bus was heading towards Spanish Town when it hit a Cherokee Sport Utility Vehicle, throwing the SUV across the island and into the path of a Toyota Corolla Sprinter motor car, which was being driven by the woman, and a Toyota Mark 2 motor car.

The out-of-control Sprinter then slammed into a Nissan Sunny motor car.

“It was just an awful sight to see cars wrecked like paper; it is a wonder no one died,” said an eyewitness, who said he was selling along the highway at the time of the accident.

Late last month six people were killed when a trailer slammed into a Coaster bus on Spanish Town Road. That accident also left more than 20 people injured. Four days before that crash, an overloaded mini-bus overturned on Highway 2000, killing five passengers and injuring nine others.