SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland – TEARS streamed steadily down the cheeks of mourners who gathered here at the office of well-loved medical doctor Barrington Clarke on Tuesday after news broke that he was killed in a car crash during the wee hours of the morning.

The highly respected general practitioner died as a result of injuries he sustained during a motor vehicle accident, which occurred along a section of the roadway in Montpelier, St James.

The 57-year-old Clarke, who was of a Montego Bay address, was the sole occupant of his blue Toyota Axio motorcar that was heading towards Savanna-la-Mar. He lost control of the vehicle around 4 o’clock, swerved across the road, climbed an embankment and overturned in a citrus field.

The mangled remains of the vehicle had to be cut by members of the Fire Brigade in order to get to the doctor. He was pronounced dead at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

When the Jamaica Observer West visited Clarke’s office later in the morning, scores of mostly female grievers were still gathered.

“Dr Clarke is one of a kind. He can never be replaced. He’s the only man that God has ever made perfect, perfect,” said a weeping Doreth Miller, who had been employed by Clarke 20 years ago.

“When it comes to dealing with his patients he is well loved. He doesn’t work for money. His interest is in his patients – seeing them stay well in all aspects of their lives: personal, mental, physical, spiritual. That was the type of person Dr Clarke was. Can never, will never get over his death,” Miller said.

She added: “He was not only my boss, he was like my brother, father. [He] can never be replaced. Never. Never.”

Teary-eyed Bluefields resident Marsha Robinson echoed similar sentiments, adding that Dr Clarke treated his patients, whether or not they could afford to pay.

“From ever since I know myself he is the only doctor I have ever been. When I was pregnant with my son he was my doctor. He was the only doctor you can go to without having money. You can see him on the road and ask him to write a prescription. Without money you can come, with money you can come. He was such a nice person, but you know what? Good people don’t live long,” Robinson lamented.

Meanwhile, Gillian Whyte said when she heard of Dr Clarke’s passing, her pressure shot up and she had to seek medical assistance.

In the meantime, several persons were seen on the premises of the Anchovy Police Station viewing the crumpled remains of Dr Clarke’s car.

Sergeant Hugh Peckoo who was on duty at the station, used the opportunity to appeal to motorists to observe road signs.

Clarke is the eleventh person to die as a result of injuries sustained in traffic accidents in St James since the start of this year. During the similar period last year, 16 persons succumbed to injuries they sustained during traffic accidents in the parish.