Bus driver killed, UWI students hurt in crash

Carl Gilchrist and Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writers

A BUS transporting a team of University of the West Indies (UWI) footballers from the Mona campus to play their western counterparts in Montego Bay in an intramural competition crashed head-on into a truck along the slippery Steer Town Road in St Ann Sunday morning, killing the driver.

Dead is 37-year-old Lauton Edwards of 15 Coronation Way in Mona, Kingston 7.

Nearly all 27 passengers on board the bus, including two females, received injuries. The injuries are not considered life threatening.

Assistant coach Shamar Marshall, who was part of the contingent, said Marvin Gayle received facial injuries. He said other persons received cuts and bruises.

Marshall was one of few persons on the bus without any visible signs of injury, although he appeared shaken up.

According to the police, the bus, a Nissan Civilian registered PC4705, was overtaking a parked motor car when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it collided with a trailer travelling in the opposite direction.

The driver was rushed to the St Ann's Bay hospital where he was pronounced dead. The passengers were also taken to the hospital for treatment.

The police said the driver of the truck, Carlton Watson, of a Fairview Road, Spanish Town, address, also received minor injuries.

Lost control

"We were coming down the Steer Town road, there was a car parked in the corner, but because of the wet condition, when the driver went out and was coming back in, the bus picked up a skid and just keep straight on into the truck. The truck was coming up the hill. Luckily, the truck driver slowed (down) considerably or else the accident could have been much worse. Our driver, he did all he could," Marshall said.

Marshall said the team, from Taylor Hall, was heading to Montego Bay for the 4 o'clock match and was hoping to arrive early and to settle properly before the game.

The Steer Town road is used by large trucks and trailers as a route to and from Kingston, heading to St Ann and other north coast areas, as they are not allowed to use Fern Gully.

When The Gleaner visited the Mona campus yesterday, the grimace expression on the faces of most students bore testament that something had gone terribly wrong. Students were seen throughout different parts of the campus huddled with cellphones in hands anxiously awaiting reports on the fate of their colleagues.

"Right now, the entire campus is in mourning, but we are thankful because there could have been more fatalities," said Peter Ainsworth, a resident adviser on Taylor Hall, who was among a group of students in a huddle.

"Our prayers also go out to the family of those injured. We are just hoping for the best, and hope that everyone will have a speedy recovery," he said.

Marsha Lynch-Gayle, a security officer at the hall, recalled her last encounter with Edwards.

"I saw him this morning when he came here about 9'o clock to pick them up. Him come in here to borrow The Gleaner but I never have any, so he picked up a STAR that was on my desk and said he would bring it back," she said.