The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 64-year-old man became the country’s first traffic fatality of the year after he was reportedly struck while using a pedestrian crossing on Bahamas Games Boulevard, with his family calling for answers and justice.

Vincent Hepburn, a father of five, was reportedly on his way to his Yellow Elder Gardens home, just a few houses from the thoroughfare, when he was fatally injured on Saturday afternoon. He died in hospital hours later.

His daughter, Bianca Hepburn, said the family believes their father was killed due to negligent driving.

She said that although he was partially blind in his left eye, he regularly used the pedestrian crossing and was familiar with the area, having lived there his entire life.

“He was coming home. He was coming across the road and according to the people, they said he got hit by a car coming across the road,” she told The Tribune.

A bag of groceries was reportedly found near the scene. The family believes he was on his way home to cook, something they said he loved to do.

Police did not report the incident in their daily crime reports. When contacted by The Tribune, press liaison officer Sheria King said she would look into the matter.

Police later issued a statement following The Tribune’s inquiries, confirming a collision involving Hepburn and a black Nissan Juke. Officers said they found Hepburn lying on the ground with visible injuries, while the Nissan Juke was parked on the eastern side of the street with damage to its front end.

The family said they were troubled by the lack of police reporting.

“That’s how a lot of people find out about their loved ones too if you ain’t immediate,” Ms Hepburn said. “Or even someone who probably saw could say, ‘oh well, let me come forward and say something, because I didn’t know the person died. I saw it happen.’ So that had me distraught to know it wasn’t reported.”

Hepburn’s daughters learned of the accident through their 88-year-old grandmother, who called them frantically after hearing the news.

Ms Hepburn said she and her sisters immediately went to the hospital, where they learned their father had lost a significant amount of blood.

They were later allowed to see him.

“Everybody was talking to him and letting everyone know all of us here right here with you and to stay strong,” Ms Hepburn said.

Hours later, hospital staff delivered the devastating news, marking the first time the close-knit family had experienced such a tragedy so close to home.

“It’s hard because I keep thinking about him, trying to sleep,” the grieving daughter said. “It’s just hard because you can’t focus and then you have your own life you have to focus on because all of us have kids.”

She said the loss was especially shocking because they had spoken just hours before the incident about her collecting a gift for her son for participating in Junkanoo.

A few days earlier, they had attended church together and spent Christmas together as a family.

Ms Hepburn described her father as their world, saying he was proud of his daughters and always protective of them.

“He always told us we are family. We are our own friends. We have enough sisters as friends and he always stood by his word and said whatever we need, he got us.”

She said she will always cherish the time they spent together on Father’s Day and during the holidays.

She added that cooking was their love language, and she would write messages like “made with love” on the food she gave him.

“I saw he still had the cover on in his bed, so I just carried that home to keep,” Ms Hepburn said.