St Mary, Jamaica—Four people have reportedly died in an early morning crash on the Rio Nuevo main road in St Mary.

The deceased individuals are said to be males.

Reports are that the driver of a Mercedes-Benz motor car with three other males aboard failed to properly negotiate a right curve heading towards Ocho Rios.

The police are continuing investigations.

Vice Chairman of the National Road Safety Council, Dr Lucien Jones, reacting to news of the crash, described it as both ‘shocking’ and ‘horrendous’.

“The carnage on the nation’s roads continues; just got a report from the police that four people died in a crash early this morning in St Mary. Four more persons lost their lives, which brings the number of fatalities on our roads to 100. One hundred people have died in approximately 94 days,” Jones said.

“This is shocking. This is horrendous. This is unacceptable for a small country like ours. Further, in the last week or so, we have had four, plus two, plus four now. Ten people dying in multiple-fatality crashes,” he remarked.

Jones pointed out that speeding is the number one cause of road fatalities in Jamaica.

“This is the number one problem that the nation faces. The Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Road Safety Council has called a meeting of the council in two weeks’ time on Thursday, April 17th. We have to find a way and perhaps come to a conclusion even before the meeting so that we can share our thoughts guided by data and recommendations from our international agencies,” Jones said.

He said we need to “pivot as a nation and align ourselves with the goals set forth by the World Health Organization to reduce fatalities by 50 per cent by the end of the decade, 2020 to 2030”.

“This is going to call for a national concentration of efforts on road safety, and the number one challenge we face in all of the constituents of the safe systems approach is speeding,” he added.

Jones also highlighted the need for more effective policing to deter motorists from speeding.

“We need to have the demerit points system along with the improved efficiencies in the ticketing system so that those who consider speeding will be aware that if they are caught, their licence can be suspended by the demerit points system. And if you don’t pay your fine at the tax office and you don’t go to court, a warrant will be issued for your address for your arrest very swiftly, and you can even spend a night or two nights in jail.

“We have to make it very difficult for those who are determined to speed on our roads. This madness cannot continue. It has to stop,” he said.

This incident follows another fatal collision along the PJ Patterson Highway on March 30, which claimed the lives of four people, including a minor.