…Man dies, three injured in Little London
LITTLE LONDON, Westmoreland — A motor vehicle accident involving two motor cars along Top Road in Little London, Westmoreland yesterday left one man dead, another in serious condition and two women with minor injuries.
The police said that at about 6:30 yesterday morning, two Toyota Corolla station wagons which were travelling in opposite directions collided with each other in the vicinity of the Little London High School as they tried to avoid potholes. Police said the drivers were not wearing seatbelts.
Horace Shippy, the driver of one of the cars and who operated a taxi along the Negril/Grange Hill route, sustained multiple injuries and died on the spot.
Police said he sustained a broken neck and hip and a puncture wound to the right side of his chest. In addition, his legs were broken in several places.
The other driver, Jeff Johnson, was taken to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital in an unconscious state. His injuries were, however, not as extensive as Shippy’s and police said it is believed that the air bag fitted in his car may have been the buffer that prevented further damage his body.
Officers from the Savanna-la-Mar Fire Department, with the assistance of citizens, removed the two drivers from the mangled vehicles.
Two women, who were passengers in one of the vehicles, sustained minor injuries and were taken to the Savanna-la-Mar hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, Millicent Snow, owner of the car driven by Johnson and Shippy’s baby-mother, was in shock.
“I was just coming out of the house when somebody call me and tell me seh, mi driver and mi baby father crash. When I came, I saw him (Shippy) trapped in the car with a hole in his chest,” the grief stricken woman told the Observer. “I was crying so I didn’t see my cousin (Jeff Johnson) who they take in the ambulance.”
Corporal Moore of the Little London Police Station has, in the meantime, appealed to motorists to adhere to the speed limits especially in the areas where the road surface is rough. He also urged motorists to wear their seatbelts.
At the same time, a woman who identified herself only as Marlene, said: There are two potholes on opposite sides of the road and if they don’t fix them and the others, more people going to die out here.”