Five road deaths in five hours

Five persons were killed on the nation’s roadways in a five-hour span today, pushing the number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes this year closer to the 300 mark.

The police have identified three of the victims.

They are Samantha Herle, 19, of Runaway Bay, in St Ann; 29-year-old hotel worker Tean Collin, of Church Lincoln district; and Kerol Bernard, 29, unemployed of Prospect district, both in Westmoreland.

The names of the two remaining victims have not yet been ascertained.

Since the start of the year, 296 persons have died in motor vehicle crashes, a five per cent increase when compared with the corresponding period last year.

In the first incident which occurred shortly after 6a.m., the police say Herle was a passenger in a motor car that was travelling from Ocho Rios to St Ann’s Bay.

According to reports, the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit an embankment before Herle was thrown from the car.

She died while undergoing treatment at hospital.

The driver was not injured.

Nearly five hours later, according to the Westmoreland Police, Collin was driving a motorcycle along the Prospect main road when he attempted to overtake a parked truck.

It’s reported that the motorcycle collided into Bernard who was also driving a motorcycle in the opposite direction.

Both men died while undergoing treatment.

Thirty minutes later, the unidentified male and female were reportedly killed after the motorcar in which they were travelling got out of control and hit the back of a bus transporting a group of tourists along the Spring Hill main road in Duncans, Trelawny.

The police say the group of 15 tourists and the driver of the bus were taken to hospital for observations.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.