Several students of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, were left in shock yesterday after they received word that three schoolmates had died in a motor vehicle crash in Oracabessa, St Mary.

They have been identified as Andy Lopez, 20, a member of the executive of the UWI Guild of Students; Jammel Fung-Chung, a 22-year-old sociology major, and 20-year-old nursing student, Shericka Wright.

A fourth passenger, Ovado Lopez, 18, Andy's brother, escaped the burning vehicle. He is now in serious, but stable condition at the St Ann's Bay Hospital.

Roger Bent, guild president, told The Gleaner he was saddened by the news of his colleagues' tragic deaths.

"They represent young lives with a lot of potential," he said.

Bent added that a special function would be held to honour the three students.

Collision

The police say the three died about 3:30 yesterday morning when the car in which they were travelling crashed into a white Toyota Corolla.

Fung-Chung, who was driving, reportedly lost control of the car, which then smashed into the guard rails of the Rio Nuevo bridge before bursting into flames.

It is reported that the students were travelling in a 2004 Mitsubishi motor car from a stage show at Richmond Estate in Ocho Rios, St Ann.

Kurt Samuels, final-year student studying philosophy at the UWI, was a close friend of Lopez and Fung-Chung for almost a decade.

"They were outgoing and jovial people who loved to party," he recalled. However, he said, they were very focused in terms of their academic obligations.

"It really pains my heart to see them go out like this," he said. "They had a bright future ahead of them."