ROCK, Trelawny — Emphasising the need for traffic signals to be installed at two critical intersections along the Northern Coastal Highway near this small community, which has been the site of numerous crashes – some fatal – in recent times, the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce has warned that if the matter is not addressed promptly, then there will be more deaths.

“People are dying. Traffic lights need to be installed promptly at section of the highway at the turn-off to Fisherman’s Inn and the one going towards the stadium [Trelawny Multi-purpose], if not, more people are going to die,” warned President of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce Delroy Christie.

He said the business community has long expressed concern about the need for the installation of the traffic signals and has lobbied the National Works Agency (NWA), but to no avail.

“We have also spoken to the police about it, and they have agreed that those intersections are in need of traffic lights,” Christie told the Jamaica Observer West.

He argued that Trelawny is the only parish along the Northern Coastal Highway – which runs from Portland to Negril – that is without traffic signals.

Over the past year, there have been reports of a number of crashes at both intersections.

Earlier this month, for instance, there was a three-vehicle collision at the intersection of the highway and the road that leads to the multi-purpose stadium.

Although a number of people were injured in that crash, there were no fatalities.

The deaths, however, of three people – two gas station pump attendants and a hotel worker – who perished in a bizarre two-vehicle collision along a section of the highway, at the turn-off going towards Fisherman’s Inn in April, are still fresh in the minds of Trelawny residents.

The deceased in that crash, who were heading home after a hard day’s work, were identified as 23-year-old Janice Brown of Wilson Run, 20-year-old Keno Edwards of Clark’s Town and 41-year-old Dwight Sutton of Bounty Hall, all in Trelawny.

The police reported then that Sutton was driving a Mitsubishi Cedia motor car with the attendants aboard from the road that leads from Rock onto the highway when on reaching a section of the highway, the vehicle reportedly collided with a trailer truck that was heading in the opposite direction.

The impact of the collision dislodged the engine of the car, sending it flying several metres from where the vehicle came to a halt. The two vehicles were extensively damaged.

The occupants of the car reportedly died instantly and members of the Falmouth Fire Station had to cut the vehicle is several areas in an effort to remove their lifeless bodies from the mangled remains. The driver of the truck reportedly sustained minor injuries.

At that time, passersby argued that the accident could have been avoided if traffic signals were installed at the nearby intersection.

A day after the deadly crash, which plunged the entire Trelawny community in a state of shock and mourning, Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Traffic Department, Senior Superintendent Calvin Allen, and his team, visited the scene of the accident.

He later told reporters that he has been in dialogue with the NWA to install traffic signals at various sections along the Northern Coastal Highway, included those in Trelawny.

Yesterday, NWA’s Community Relations Officer for the Western Region Janel Ricketts said the agency is aware of the number of accidents along that section of the corridor. She pointed out, however, that they are due largely to excessive speeding on the thoroughfare.

“The NWA has, however, done a preliminary assessment of the situation and a series of recommendations have been made. We are now in the process of devising a comprehensive plan to help to reduce the number of accidents along the corridor,” Ricketts said in a statement.