Weekend crashes push road fatalities to 100
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Three people died in motor vehicle crashes over the weekend, pushing road fatalities to 100 since the start of the year.
The first of the three crashes, which happened at 9:45 pm on Saturday, claimed the life of 41-year-old Kenneth McIntosh.
According to the constabulary’s Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), McIntosh lost control of the motorcar he was driving along the Mount Ogle main road in St Andrew and it reportedly hit an embankment then overturned. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A similar crash happened in St Elizabeth a few hours later, resulting in the death of 35-year-old Fredrick Lang, a construction worker of Swamp district in St Elizabeth.
Lang was driving a Toyota Vista motorcar towards Grierfield in the parish about 11:30 pm when he too lost control of the vehicle, which hit an embankment and overturned. He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
The third crash involved 46-year-old Rohan Jones of Farm Heights in Montego Bay, St James, who died on Sunday after reportedly losing control of the Toyota Tacoma motor truck he was driving and crashing into the rear of a parked trailer on the Priory main road in St Ann.
CCU reported that Jones had to be cut from the vehicle and was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The crash occurred about 8:30 pm.
The continued increase in road fatalities has prompted an appeal from the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport and Mining for motorists to keep left while driving; not to overtake around corners and to drive within the posted speed limits.
The unit released statistics this morning, revealing that motorcyclists continue to account for the majority of road users killed, with 30 such deaths recorded so far.
This group is followed by pedestrians at 21 and drivers and passengers of private motor vehicles at 19 and 17, respectively.
Pillion riders and passengers of commercial motor vehicles accounted for two deaths each, while only one public passenger vehicle driver and one commercial motor vehicle driver were killed since the start of the year.
