FALMOUTH, Trelawny – Two police constables were killed, while another sustained multiple injuries when the vehicle in which they were travelling collided with a truck along the Bog Walk Bypass in St Catherine yesterday morning.

The deceased were identified as Constables Phillip Harris and Dawn Lewis, while the injured cop, Constable Richard Thompson, has been hospitalised. They were all stationed at Falmouth

in Trelawny.

The police reported that the three cops were on their way to Kingston at about 8:35 yesterday morning to escort prisoners back for trials in Trelawny, when the Suzuki SUV in which they were travelling collided with a truck.

News of the tragic incident devastated officers at the Falmouth Police Station yesterday. Superintendent Linnette Williams-Martin, the officer in charge of the parish, fell ill and was whisked off to hospital after receiving news of the tragedy.

“Me head a hurt me, a can’t believe,” said Corporal Patrick Chin, liaison officer for the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) in the parish.

Acting Area One commander, Senior Superintendent Jasmine Tomlinson-Brown, who visited family members of the dead cops yesterday, later led a team of senior police on a visit to the Falmouth station to comfort the visibly shaken policemen and women.

“It is very sad, it is a bad day for us, a very bad day,” SSP Tomlinson-Brown said.

Reverend Michael Brown of the Falmouth Anglican Church and Reverend Owen Watson from the Victim Support Unit offered counsel to the traumatised cops.

Yesterday, Minister of National Security Dr Peter Phillips also expressed shock and sadness at the accident, and pointed to the need for all motorists to use the nation’s roadways with care.

“The need for everyone to observe proper use of the roadways cannot be over-emphasised. Motor vehicle accidents are claiming the lives of too many of our policemen and citizens,” Minister Phillips said in

a statement.

He added that the alarming number of road fatalities so far this year required that the security forces redouble their efforts to ensure the observance of the rules of the road by all motorists.

“Equally, all citizens must recognise that it is in the interest of all to observe our road traffic laws,” he stressed.

The security minister also expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.

At the same time, Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas said he was filled with shock and disbelief when he heard of the untimely death of his two officers and the injury of another.

“My feeling of shock and disbelief comes from the fact that the force has not only lost two of its young members, but also because three police officers have died in motor vehicle accidents over the last month,” said Thomas in a statement issued by the CCN.

“Add to this, over 250 civilians who have lost their lives since the start of the year because of the improper use of the roads, and we clearly appreciate that this wanton disregard for the rules of the road must be stopped,” said the police chief.

He sent his sympathies to the entire police force, family, friends and colleagues of the two officers, and wished the injured cop a speedy recovery.