Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings (inset) speaks to reporters at the scene of a suspected hit-and-run where a wheelchair-bound man was found dead on the side of Strachan Boulevard on October 4, 2024.
By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
Police are investigating a suspected hit-and-run after a wheelchair-bound man was found dead on the side of the road early Friday morning.
Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told reporters it was further suspected that the victim's body may have been dragged by the vehicle.
According to reports, a passerby was walking on Strachan Boulevard when he saw the deceased, who frequents the area, sometime around 6am.
Mrs Skippings said: “They responded and an examination of the victim, they confirmed no signs of life. Additionally, they observed the victim to have injuries to his body that is consistent with that of a traffic incident, possibly a hit and run.”
Chief Superintendent Skippings added that the incident likely occurred earlier, as rigor mortis had already set in, indicating the body had been there for some time.
She also had a message for the driver: “The driver may have been in this area. You may have not known what you hit. You may have thought that you may have hit an animal or a stump in the road. You may feel that you hit something. I'm going to ask you, as you watch this feed to go to the traffic police station.”
She noted it was too early to determine if poor visibility contributed to the incident but did not want to rule it out.
“It could be that it may have been intentional," she continued.
"It could be that they may have veered off from something. It could be that lighting, it could be any number of circumstances that have contributed to it. But because it's early in the investigation, Let us allow the investigators from the traffic division, coupled with us viewing the CCTV footage that is in the area, let us look at those first before we definitively say what may have transpired here in the past few hours.”
Chief Superintendent Skippings reminded the public that the penalty for a hit-and-run conviction is $10,000.
Comments
IslandWarrior 1 month, 3 weeks ago
In the wake of the tragic incident involving a wheelchair-bound man, left lifeless on Strachan Boulevard due to a suspected hit-and-run, my prior concerns about the dangerous state of our roadways have been sadly reaffirmed. This is not simply a tragic accident; it serves as a stark reminder of the deeply ingrained culture of lawlessness that has taken over our streets. Recklessness, a flagrant disregard for human life, and a lack of accountability now define much of the driving behaviour in Nassau, resulting in yet another unnecessary and entirely preventable loss of life. We have now reached a critical juncture where negligence on our roads is no longer just an inconvenience—it is a grave matter of life and death. The fact that a disabled individual, reliant on a wheelchair, could be struck down, potentially dragged, and abandoned to die on the roadside is a powerful indicator of the erosion of moral responsibility and civic duty in our society. It should never take the death of such a vulnerable individual to remind us that every time a driver chooses to ignore traffic laws or act recklessly, they are endangering the lives of innocent people. The penalty for a hit-and-run conviction, set at $10,000, is a woeful reflection of how little we value human life in such cases. This paltry sum is a grave insult to the grieving families and the very fabric of our society, which is torn apart by such senseless acts of negligence. What does it say about our values when the price of recklessness and indifference is so severely undercut, reduced to a monetary figure that hardly reflects the gravity of the crime? It is high time we put an end to this rampant disregard for life on our streets. This incident is not an isolated case but a symptom of a larger, more dangerous trend that threatens the safety and well-being of every citizen. We urgently need a comprehensive overhaul of traffic law enforcement, harsher penalties for offenders, and a fundamental shift in societal attitudes towards responsibility and accountability. Furthermore, we must close the gap of corruption that enables reckless drivers to evade justice and continue operating on our roads without consequence. Without these changes, we will continue to witness unnecessary suffering and senseless death. To the authorities: the time to act is now. Fulfil your duty to protect the citizens you have sworn to serve by taking decisive action against the epidemic of reckless driving. To the public: let this serve as a wake-up call. We must reclaim our streets before they spiral further into chaos, and this starts with each of us holding ourselves and others to a higher standard of responsibility. No more lives should be lost to this madness.
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