The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A PHARMACIST died in a traffic accident in Long Island over the weekend when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a utility pole.

According to police reports, the tragedy occurred around midnight on Saturday, January 16, when a man was riding his motorcycle on Queens Highway in the area of Deans, Long Island.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Though he has not been officially identified, The Tribune understands that he is pharmacist Thomas Hall.

When contacted by this newspaper, Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner yesterday said: “When I received the call at 2am on Saturday of what had happened to Tommy, I was absolutely shocked.”

“He’s a transplanted Nassauvian who moved to Long Island and married a wonderful Long Island lady by the name of Sheryl Knowles. Tommy Hall was an amazing, friendly, fun loving, kind and hardworking family man and together they were an amazing couple.

“This will be a significant blow for the family and the community,” Mrs Butler-Turner said.

“He’s the only private pharmacist on the island, as far as I know, that prescribes medicine to the people outside of the government stock. And despite losing everything to Hurricane Joaquin, he helped with the rebuilding efforts. They had just recently restocked and reopened in fact.”

“It’s really sad,” she said.

A team of officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Traffic Department in the capital flew to Long Island to assist with the investigation.

Though she could not say what caused the accident or speculate on whether lasting damage from the hurricane may have played a role, Mrs Butler-Turner said that “there are quite a few curves in the road and once you get out of the main settlements, it’s mostly dark.”

She added: “We don’t have continuous lamp poles and we also don’t have any road reflector markers. They can be very useful when we talk about road safety.”

“I appreciate that responsibility for one’s safety on the road lies with the motorist but it is also important to have proper infrastructure and safety measures in place as well. And knowing Tommy, personally speaking, I would never classify him as being a daredevil but traffic accidents are becoming too common.”

“This is a deep loss for Long Island,” the MP said.

This is the first reported traffic related death on Long Island this year.