Injured boy ran to hero's rescue

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

The moment he saw David Summerbell's Mitsubishi Evolution 8 run off the track and plunge into the bushes near the Total corner at Dover Raceway last Monday, 10-year-old Daniel Buchanan did not hesitate to get moving. He was among the scores of die-hard fans who invaded the track, trying to see how seriously injured Summerbell was.

Luckily, Summerbell emerged from the damaged car unscathed, but little Buchanan was not so lucky. He ran into the path of one of the other competing cars and was hit. The Brown's Town Primary School student was hospitalised for several days, then discharged on Thursday.

Noble intention

"I heard that the reason he ran on the track was to help save his hero's (Summerbell) life. This little boy dreams about Summerbell and wants to be like him," said Donald Pinnock, the injured boy's cousin, who was also at Monday's 'Heroes of Speed' meet.

Immediately after the incident, an ambulance, siren wailing, rushed Daniel to the St Ann's Bay Hospital.

"Dem discharged him yesterday (Thursday), but mi have fi carry him back a doctor this morning (Friday), because him a bawl fi him belly," his highly emotional mother, Carolyn Needham, told The Sunday Gleaner on Friday.

A single mother who sells the daily newspapers for a living, Needham stressed that financial constraints have prevented her from filling a prescription she got for her son, who she confirmed is fan of Summerbell.

"Is me alone and I don't have any help," the emotional Needham said.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, has expressed regret at the incident and wished the schoolboy a speedy recovery. The minister intends to engage the Jamaica Race Driver's Club (JRDC) in discussions about safety issues at Dover.

"Safety is a primary concern at these events, especially as we look forward to staging a big motoring event in downtown Kingston next year," said Grange.

Though there were no fatalities in the incident at the island's premier racing circuit course, head of the St Ann Police Division, Senior Superintendent Carlton Wilson, has expressed an interest in meeting with the JRDC to see how safety and security can be improved at the facility. "We want to avoid a recurrence," said Wilson.

President of the JRDC, Hilary Jardine, said the club is open to suggestions about improving security and safety at the track, but explained that on several occasions, the JRDC has erected a proper safety fencing at Dover but it has been stolen by vandals.

"Another point is the hundreds of persons who enter the compound through the bushes. They don't pay, and these are persons who sit or stand in the restricted areas and are among the first to run on the track when there is an accident," Jardine said.