14 hospitalised following deadly bus crash in St. Elizabeth

By Kimone Witter    

 

As least 14 people remained hospitalised on Thursday afternoon following a deadly early morning bus crash along the Font Hill main road in St. Elizabeth.

 

The driver of the bus, Junior Ramsay, died of his injuries.

 

Radio Jamaica News has been informed that the injured passengers are now being treated at several medical facilities.

 

Assistant Commissioner Gary McKenzie, head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), who went to the scene, said the crash occurred sometime after 3 o'clock.

 

"What we gather is that a Toyota Hiace motor truck was travelling easterly along the roadway when, for unknown reasons, it veered to the left and crashed into a tree. In fact, the bus climbed the tree for about 10 feet. When we examine the scene, it is very clear that there were swerve marks from the middle of the road, off the roadway, onto the tree. And based on the information that we have gathered so far, it would appear that there might have been some level of distraction that caused the crash," said ACP McKenzie, who added that there was not a lot of traffic on the road at the time of the crash. 

 

He said the cause of the crash is now under investigation.

 

Eighteen passengers were in the bus.

 

Passengers reportedly told the police that the driver was attempting to answer his phone when he lost control of the vehicle.

 

ACP McKenzie again called for drivers of public passenger vehicles to exercise due care in transporting their passengers.