One-year-old among four persons killed in bloody weekend on the road
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 9:46 PMLivern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter
It was a bloody weekend on the nation’s roadways as a one-year-old child, a Canadian citizen, and two motorcyclists were killed in three separate motor vehicle crashes, according to a police report.
The names of the victims were not released up to press time.
The crashes occurred in Kingston, St Elizabeth, and Westmoreland between Friday and Sunday.
Jamaica has recorded 77 road deaths since the start of the year, an 18 per cent decrease when compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the National Road Safety Council (NRSC).
Vice-chairman of the NRSC Dr Lucien Jones said news of the four weekend road deaths was “very disturbing”.
“We are not doing well with road safety or not as well as what is happening with homicides,” Jones told The Gleaner, making reference to the 30 per cent decline in the number of murders reported since the start of the year.
“We need to have the same kind of concerted effort in road safety to ensure that we have below 300 this year. We have to focus on pedestrians and motorcyclists,” he added.
Twenty-one motorcyclists and 19 pedestrians have died in crashes so far this year. Pedestrian fatalities are up when compared with the similar period last year, while the number of motorcyclists killed so far this year is down.
WEEKEND CARNAGE
A collision between a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero and two pedestrians at the intersection of Pryce and Septimus streets, Kingston, around 12:30 p.m. on Friday resulted in the death of the one-year-old, the police report revealed.
The “possible causes” of the crash were “reverse (sic) negligently”, excessive speeding, and “fail (sic) to keep to the nearside/proper traffic lane”, according to the report.
The Canadian woman, 65, was a pillion passenger on a motorcycle that collided with a Toyota motor car around 4:40 p.m. along the Sandy Bank main road in St Elizabeth on Saturday.
The report listed the possible causes as “excess speed with no regards to condition”, “apparent error of judgment/negligence”, and failing to keep to the near side/proper traffic lane.
The incident triggered a call by at least one resident for authorities to “get moving” on the installation of speed bumps in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth.
According to the resident, installation of the speed bumps was approved by the National Works Agency “over three years ago”.
“The area has proven to be a danger spot,” the resident said in a letter that was copied to the NRSC.
The resident also indicated that the Canadian woman had been coming to the community where she was killed “for the past 20 years”.
In the third incident, two motorcycles reportedly collided along the Bowen main road in Sheffield, Westmoreland, about 8:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Two men, ages 24 and 37, were killed.
“Swerving”, excessive speeding, and failing to keep to the near side/proper traffic lane were listed as the possible causes of the crash.