Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer
SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine:
TWO PEOPLE are confirmed dead following an accident along the Old Harbour section of the toll road in St. Catherine last evening.
Traffic had to be diverted along a section of the busy thoroughfare in the vicinity of McCooks Pen after a Hiace minibus carrying passengers from Kingston to Mandeville crashed upon reaching near the toll booth. The accident occured about 6:00 p.m.
The driver of the bus reportedly lost control of the vehicle after blowing a tyre; the bus then overturned. Several passengers claimed the driver, identified as Roger Daley of a Kingston address and who was pronounced dead on the spot, was speeding. He received injuries to the chest area.
An unidentified rastafarian also succumbed to his injuries. Sixteen other persons have been hospitalised following the accident; some were rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital.
The St. Catherine North traffic department is investigating the accident. Jamaica Infrastructure Operators, the developers of the highway, said last year that the majority of accidents on the road were due to faulty tyres.
