The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY, friends and colleagues of Nurse Latisha Cash, who was killed in a car crash last week, say her tragic death was an unexpected blow for many.

Nurse Cash died after her car crashed and caught fire on Sir Milo Butler Highway early Friday morning.

According to police reports, sometime around 2am a woman was driving a white Kia Serato when the car ran into the median and overturned onto the southbound lane.

The vehicle came to a stop and then caught fire. Police were called to the scene and upon arrival, found the car overturned and engulfed in flames.

After Police Fire Services extinguished the fire, a search was conducted. Police said the woman’s body was found in the driver’s seat “burnt beyond recognition”.

The deceased was later identified as Nurse Cash, who was said to be in her late 20s.

She was reportedly heading home before the crash happened.

Bahamas Nurses Union President Amancha Williams said the incident has left the nursing community shaken.

“It’s taken a toll on the colleagues who she worked with because, like I said earlier, when you come to work and you work that same shift together and then you leave and you don’t see that person tomorrow because you heard what happened that night, that takes a toll,” Ms Williams told The Tribune yesterday.

“So, sudden death always takes a toll on persons. It leaves your psychological state in a really compromised position. It causes you to think deeper and it lingers on your mind because it’s a loss and she was very young and she was a great loss. I don’t think she was 30 and so here we’re mourning.”

Nurse Cash’s death also comes nearly a year after her best friend, who was also a nurse, died suddenly.

“She was a beautiful person and just as nice as her friend who she lost last year because (Cash) was expecting to be goddy (because her friend was pregnant) and these girls when I say they were the best of friends, they were the best of friends. They did nothing without each other and I know it’s so surprising to a lot of persons because she was a part of the BNU and her friend was a part of the BNU. They supported us in a great way,” Ms Williams said.

“So, everybody is just giving their condolences because they know no matter what you say about nurses, we work together as a team. We do work together as a team and we spent most of our time together. That’s our family right there. When you do nursing, the body is your family, especially in the public sector. We become a family. We do everything together.”

Friday’s tragedy also prompted reaction from family and friends on social media over the weekend.

“You (were) so full of life, always smiling … a gem of a person, kind hearted and loving person. Cash was the dancer to every song,” one friend posted on Facebook.

Another added: “Y’all pray for the nursing community because we are really not doing well right now. Less than one year, we lost two beautiful souls. Rest easy baby girl.”

Police said investigations into the country’s latest traffic fatality are continuing.