SEVEN POLICE officers from Mobile Reserve were injured when their vehicle crashed into the Rock Spring River, in the vicinity of the Brighton Beach Shell Station in Rockfort, on Sunday afternoon.
Police reports indicate that, at approximately 3:50 p.m. the vehicle, driven by Corporal K. Haughton and carrying six others including a female officer, skidded, hit a light post and crashed into the river.
All seven were taken to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) where they were admitted for treatment, but none was serious. Names of those involved in the accident were - Corporals Haughton and D. Powell, Constables D. Fuller, C. Georghogen, B. Atkinson, A.A. Brown and Woman Constable K. Gardiner.
Police inspector S. Moodie of the Mobile Reserve said that the area where the crash occurred was notorious for accidents.
He said the road is not well made and has "too much of a steel finish" and "should have more grit". This, he claimed, led to it being too smooth and proned to skidding. "A Brinks truck crashed here less than a month ago," he added.
The inspector suggested a 'Slippery When Wet' sign should be put up to warn drivers of the danger.
Kirk Patterson, a Guardsman security guard who was on duty at the Shell station at the time of the accident, said that he heard the sounds of the tyres screeching and, when he looked out the window, he was just in time to see the 30-seater bus ride the embankment, hitting the light post with its right side and then skidding back across the road.
Patterson said that when he came outside he expected to see the bus still on the road and was surprised to see it down in the river. He also agreed with the Inspector's observations on the dangerous nature of the road, saying that he has a list of all the accidents he has seen while on duty, including the one involving the Brinks truck and another involving another police vehicle.
