Taxi driver faces manslaughter charge
WESTERN BUREAU — A Westmoreland taxi operator is to appear in the Savanna-la-Mar Resident Magistrate’s Court today to answer a charge of manslaughter, following a fatal accident involving a German tourist along Negril’s Norman Manley Boulevard.
According to the police, at about 2:30 pm on Saturday, 66 year-old Adrian Lawrence of Town Head, Westmoreland was driving his 1992 Toyota Hiace minibus along the boulevard, when he reportedly lost control of the vehicle. It collided with two pedestrians who were walking on the left soft shoulder of the roadway, police said.
The pedestrians — Stephen Buch and 21 year-old teacher Sabrina Kurlea, both of Kinchen, Germany — sustained injuries to their hands, heads, chests and shoulders. They were taken to the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital where Buch was pronounced dead and Kurlea admitted in stable condition.
Following investigations by the police, Lawrence was subsequently arrested and charged.
Sixteen people have been killed in Westmoreland since the start of the year, as a result of motor vehicle accidents.