Glenroy Sinclair and Devon Evans, Gleaner Reporters
WHAT WAS supposed to be a happy vacation for two British nationals ended in tragedy early yesterday morning, when one of them and two Jamaicans were killed in a car crash in St. Ann.
The other visitor, a 20-year-old, was hospitalised in serious condition.
The accident occurred about 2:00 a.m. Monday along the Priory main road in the vicinity of the Priory Beach. The ill-fated motor vehicle reportedly ran off the road, plunged into a gully and rolled several times before coming to a stop.
Those killed have been identified as 16-year-old Danielle Richards of London, England, Jerome Cohen, 20, of Bonham Spring and 19-year-old Che Blackwood of Content Gardens, St. Ann. Both Blackwood and Cohen were employees of the Shaw Park Beach Hotel.
The driver of the motor car reportedly lost control of the vehicle, resulting in the crash.
Checks by The Gleaner yesterday revealed that Richards and the other visitor, who arrived in the island last Tuesday, were staying at the Shaw Park Hotel in Ocho Rios where they were booked until today.
Head of the St. Ann Traffic Department Sergeant Higilock Mullings said preliminary investigations into the early morning crash suggest that excessive speeding was the main cause.
According to the police, the car was travelling from St. Ann's Bay towards Priory when on reaching a section of the Priory main road, Blackwood, who was the driver, proceeded to overtake a line of traffic. He lost control of the vehicle which ran off the road.
Yesterday, there was an air of sadness at Shaw Park Hotel as
both executives and staff mourned the loss of the three, while expressing a
speedy recovery for the other British visitor.
"It is a sad day for us," said sales manager Rosemarie Johnson. Blackwood was employed as an entertainment coordinator and was working at the hotel for a little over three months while Cohen, who was a trainee electrician, had at least one year's service.
The hotel's general manager, Lionel Reid, told The Gleaner that although spirits are down everyone was still holding out and wishing the best for both the families of the deceased and the injuried guest.
Mr. Reid said personnel from the hotel had contacted the families of the two guests in London to express their condolences.
He said Blackwood and Cohen were "very promising young men" who will be missed by the entire staff. According to police records, at least 74 persons have been killed in 79 fatal motor vehicle accidents since January.
"This is nine fewer than the number of persons who died in fatal motor vehicle accidents for the corresponding period last year," said Senior Superintendent Elan Powell, head of the Police Traffic Department.
He explained that the area where the accident took place was newly-paved and motorists were always speeding. Sergeant Higilock, who shared the same view with SSP Powell, described the spot as one of the "trouble spots" in the parish, where there have been frequent accidents.
