Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

Spanish Town, St. Catherine

A 14-year-old student of the Ewarton High School died yesterday morning after the taxi in which she was a passenger crashed, killing her on the spot and injuring four of her schoolmates.

Police are blaming the taxi driver's speeding for the accident which led to the death of Aldene Brown.

According to Cpl. Wilfred James of the Ewarton Police Traffic Department, the Caldina motor car was proceeding along the Ewarton main road when, on reaching a section of the road known as Cotton Piece, the driver of the vehicle, Marlon Smith, lost control.

The vehicle ran on to the right side of the road and into the path of an oncoming Leyland truck. The car crashed, almost being run over by the truck, and Brown, who suffered head injuries, was taken to the Linstead Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

According to Corporal James, that stretch of road has a continuous white line, meaning that Smith should not have been overtaking at the time of the accident.

"We have implemented strict regulations with traffic enforcement and, since the start of the week, we have served more than 20 tickets to motorists for speeding and illegal overtaking," he said. "We are now asking persons to be more careful as it is a 50 kph zone."

Sombre mood

Leslie Mair, principal of the Ewarton High School, described the mood at the institution as sombre yesterday.

"We have taken several students to counselling following the devotionthis morning, and it has hit the school very badly," he said. "Several of the students have expressed great concern about what happened on the road. It is a sad day."

Some students in Aldene's grade nine class were seen looking listless while some others wept openly.

The traffic division has promised a thorough investigation, and the police said they were hoping the incident would serve as a lesson for motorists to heed the unbroken white line when proceeding along the road.