The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

CHRISTOPHER Mortimer, the former interim leader of the Democratic National Alliance, died yesterday at 53.

Former DNA Chairman Andrew Wilson, a close friend of Mr Mortimer, confirmed the death of the well-known businessman.

Mortimer was the former president of Galleria Cinemas and Outback Steakhouse.

He had two children.

His recent ventures included preparing to introduce Red Lobster to The Bahamas. According to his LinkedIn page, he was the president of Island Bloom and Pinnacle Franchise Brands.

“He was a very decent human being and my dearest friend,” Mr Wilson said. “I am shocked.”

Ben Albury, a former Montagu candidate for the DNA, called Mortimer an “exemplary young man”.

“You know, I admired Chris,” he said. “I looked up to Chris. You know, not that we never had our differences, but one thing I always felt was with Chris he was always somebody that you could talk to, you could confide with. And, you know, Chris was very good at organizing.”

 “He was always very strategic and he was always very, you know, very involved with the execution of things and how things should be carried out. And I think that Chris is definitely a young Bahamian man that we lost too soon and somebody that should be admired.”

 After the DNA’s first leader, Branville McCartney stepped down, Mortimer became interim leader of the DNA from October 2017 to February 2019.

 The Tribune could not confirm the circumstances surrounding his death yesterday.

 However, police reported that a 53-year-old male resident of Lockhart Lane off Davis Street died in a suspicious car accident.

 The incident reportedly happened shortly before 4pm and involved a black Ford Escape.

 The driver drove west along Lockhart Lane when he reportedly got out of the vehicle. Police said on arrival at the scene, officers found the car in the reverse gear and the driver pinned against a chain link fence. He received serious injuries and died of his injuries at the scene.