The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SEVEN people have been killed in traffic accidents across The Bahamas since Saturday, with Works Minister Clay Sweeting urging motorists to slow down as families mourn one of the deadliest stretches on the country’s roads in years.

Mr Sweeting made the appeal when questioned about the state of Shirley Street, where four young women were killed early Sunday after a car carrying eight people slammed into a tree near Church Street.

The crash had sparked questions about road conditions in the area, but Mr Sweeting said Shirley Street had already been identified for paving before the tragedy and argued that the recent spate of fatalities points to a wider problem with speed.

He was defensive when asked about the timeline for completing roadworks on Shirley Street.

“Families are mourning persons,” he told reporters. “Yesterday I spoke about this, and you're trying to tailor me to the incident, asking me questions around that.”

“You have families that are mourning five young ladies that have passed away with their life out of them. I don't think it's fair to me, to them, to anyone who has a child to try to tailor this tragedy to speak on who's to blame, what's to blame, because reality, yes, nobody who's lost someone cares about how it happened.”

“They're concerned that the one they love isn't there anymore. So, I don't want you to draw me into something when yesterday I already told you I don't think it's fair to none of us.”

Mr Sweeting said Shirley Street needs work, but stressed that deadly crashes have occurred across several islands.

“Shirley Street is one of those areas that needs road work,” he said. “It has been on the agenda to pave even prior to any accidents, as well as other areas, you've seen a number of fatalities throughout the country. So, it isn't just New Providence. We've seen fatalities in Abaco, Grand Bahama, Andros, and now another one this morning by Odyssey.”

“This seems to be a national concern in regards to motorists and the speed that persons started driving, so I do caution persons to slow down a bit. We won't want another situation where we have families mourning over these type of situations.”

His comments came after a 23-year-old man died yesterday morning in a two-vehicle crash on Coral Harbour Road near Odyssey Aviation, the latest traffic fatality in a grim four-day period.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Assistant Superintendent Lakeisha Sawyer said the victim’s vehicle spun before he was ejected. Based on the extent of the damage, investigators believe speed was a contributing factor in the crash.

ASP Sawyer urged motorists to obey speed limits and follow road safety practices.

Police said shortly before 7am, officers from the Western Division were alerted to the collision. When they arrived, they found two vehicles involved: a black 2016 Kia Sorento driven by a 53-year-old woman and a blue Suzuki Swift with an unresponsive 23-year-old man inside.

Emergency Medical Services personnel responded and pronounced the driver of the Suzuki Swift dead.

Police believe the Kia Sorento was travelling north along Coral Harbour Road while the Suzuki Swift was travelling south when the vehicles collided.

The driver of the Kia Sorento was taken to the hospital for medical treatment. Her condition was unknown up to press time.

The crash marked the 36th traffic fatality for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

It followed three deadly crashes since Saturday.

On Saturday, 26-year-old Nica Julien died after the Ford Focus she was driving overturned and collided with a concrete utility pole on East Sunrise Highway in Grand Bahama.

On Sunday, Diamond Stubbs, 17, Betrica Brown, 19, Stania Webb, 19, and Evalena Johnson, 19, were killed in a crash in the area of Shirley Street and Church Street. The vehicle was carrying eight occupants. Three men and another female occupant were taken to the hospital with injuries. Most of the group had known each other since childhood.

On Monday, a 30-year-old man was killed following a two-vehicle collision on Ernest Dean Highway in Spring City, Abaco.

CCTV footage circulating on social media allegedly shows the moments leading up to the Shirley Street crash.

The video appears to show a dark-coloured vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed along an otherwise empty road before striking a tree, causing it to snap and fall.

Moments later, a man is seen emerging from the vehicle with his head slumped as he walks away. Two bystanders then approach the wrecked car to check on its occupants.

Police have not publicly confirmed the authenticity of the footage as investigations continue.

Ahead of a Cabinet meeting, Mr Sweeting said the Ministry of Works has aggressively expanded road paving efforts across New Providence over the past two years, noting that the island has more than 1,000 miles of roads requiring maintenance.

He said the government has entered into a public-private partnership with Baha Mix and engaged multiple contractors.

“We’ve also contracted numerous small contractors. I think up to 12 have been paving from January to now throughout New Providence,” he said. “We’ll continue our aggressive road campaign.”

Mr Sweeting acknowledged frustration over potholes and deteriorating road conditions, particularly during the rainy season, but said the ministry is working to improve road maintenance.

“In the next six months, within six months, you'll see a new way of road patching that will allow us to patch 100 potholes within a day, instead of five to 10 we're currently doing it,” he said.