MANCHESTER, Jamaica — A man narrowly escaped serious injuries after the vehicle he was driving came in contact with a downed utility pole in New Forest, south Manchester on Tuesday night.

Reports suggest that about 11:00 pm the man was driving a Toyota Axio motor car on the Alligator Pond main road when the incident happened.

Councillor for the Alligator Pond division Omar Robinson  is urging the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) to remove downed utility poles in the area.

“I got a report that a silver Axio was written off in one of the fallen JPS poles that I have reported on numerous occasions since the passage of Hurricane Beryl. I plead and I beg JPS to clear the road. Last night it was a near miss for a young man from Comma Pen. Luckily he escaped injuries, but the car has been totaled. I hope that nothing else happens in the area,” Robinson told Observer Online.

“I still haven’t seen any presence of JPS in the Alligator Pond division, if it is even to get the poles out of the way. One [pole] is a little away from the New Forest school, it can fall at any time. People keep using the thoroughfare to get to their homes and business places, so JPS I call again please come and clear the road. We know that we might not have electricity anytime soon, but at least clear the main road to Alligator Pond,” he added.

— Kasey Williams