Two dead, three hospitalised following Wesmoreland crash

By Kimone Witter     

 

Two men are dead and three others in hospital following a single vehicle collision on the Three Miles River main road in Westmoreland on Monday morning.

 

They have been identified as 21-year-old Omario Brown, who was the driver, and one of his passengers, Javel Brown.

 

The crash occurred about 1:15 a.m. in the vicinity of the Thrifty gas station.

 

It's reported that the driver of a white Toyota Corolla Axio, with four passengers, was travelling along the Three Miles River main road, allegedly at a high speed.

 

Upon approaching a right-hand curve, the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle.

 

The car then veered to the left and collided with a tree.

 

The impact caused severe damage to the vehicle and resulted in the deaths of the driver and the front-seat passenger.

 

They were pronounced dead at the scene.

 

The remaining three occupants were transported to hospital for treatment.

 

Four parishes of concern 

 

The Island Traffic Authority says up to December 6, four parishes accounted for 53 per cent of total road fatalities.

 

St. Catherine accounted for 17 per cent; Westmoreland, 15 per cent; St. Andrew, 11 per cent; and St. Ann, 10 per cent.

 

At that time, there were a total of 343 fatalities from 296 crashes.

 

As of Monday morning, the figure has increased to 346 from 298 crashes.

 

Dr. Lucien Jones, Vice Chairman of the National Road Safety Council, is sounding the alarm about three parishes in particular. 

 

The latest deaths bring road fatalities in Westmoreland to 52, while there have been 57 road deaths in St. Catherine and 36 in St. Ann. 

 

"These are dangerous parishes to drive in, and people need to be extra cautious. Everyone in Westmoreland should know by now that this is a place where crashes occur and fatal crashes occur. For the month of December, what is going to make a difference in the data is whether or not we have several multiple fatalities, which tends to happen, and the only way we can prevent this is to slow down," he pleaded.