Five road fatalities: NRSC bemoans deadly start to December

By Kimone Witter    

 

Vice Chairman of the National Road Safety Council, Dr. Lucien Jones, says December has started off on a sad note with five fatalities in under 24 hours. 

 

Four of the fatalities occured in Clarendon after two drivers died in a crash on the Dawkins Pen main road on Sunday night, then two students of Lennon High School were killed in a two-vehicle collision on the Bustamante Highway on Monday morning.

 

A motorcyclist died after he collided with a motorcar in Burnt Savannah, St. Elizabeth on Sunday afternoon.

 

Dr. Jones described the incidents as shocking, noting that multiple fatalities in one day could put in jeopardy the country's target of having fewer than 400 road deaths this year. 

 

"We absolutely need to get a hold of this. And it's left to the police and all agencies working together, including those responsible for fixing the roads, to make sure that along with serious public education, we alert the nation and road users to the dangers associated with December and January and February, going into the next year," he said. 

 

Some 342 people have died in road crashes since January.