The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ROBYN Benicourt, a recent nursing school graduate, was looking forward to sitting her upcoming exams and getting registered with the Bahamas Nursing Council before she was killed in a traffic accident Wednesday night.

The 35-year-old mother was reportedly exiting a Suzuki jeep on her way to visit a relative near Minnie Street and Balfour Avenue when a passing vehicle struck her after 7pm. 

She later succumbed to her injuries in hospital, leaving behind a husband and three young children.

Her close friend and colleague, Rodreka Brown, said the two were supposed to link at a school meeting Wednesday evening, but she could not make it because of work.

She said the last thing Robyn told her before her death was: “Rody, boy you are really a good big sister.” She replied that she loved her. 

“I know I was expecting to hear from her that evening until I got that call and they were asking me to go down to accident and emergency to check on her,” she said. “But I could not go because I instantly broke down.” 

Ms Brown said Robyn considered her “a big sister”, and the two became close during college.

They later graduated from Southern College off Soldier Road in December and were due to take their council exam in November.

“We were the first graduating class of Southern College,” she said. “Our actual clinical rotation to complete one or two courses that were still outlined to go in the rotation in the clinical area, we was supposed to start that today and the meeting was about that, and she was all excited. All of the colleagues who went to the meeting, they said how bubbly and how happy she was. She had an extraordinary happiness about her yesterday.”

Ms Brown described Robyn, a personal care assistant at Sandilands, as  “strong-headed” but serious about her career.

“I watched her grow from being that little feisty person to coming around to being the loving and caring person,” she said. “You could actually see her transforming. Like I said, we were just waiting to sit our council exam and then she wanted to branch out to do a speciality.”

Ms Brown said her death has left the nursing community in mourning. She said classes at Southern College were cancelled to allow her close friends and colleagues to mourn. 

President of the Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU) Muriel Lightbourn also expressed sadness over Robyn’s death, saying her future was bright. 

“On the day she graduated, she was so tearful and very proud of her accomplishments. It was evident that everybody was proud of her. I mean everybody, even me,” she said, adding she knew Robyn for seven years.