(Jamaica Observer) Two visually impaired women were killed on Monday and five other people seriously injured after they were mowed down by a motor car at a bus stop along old Hope Road in front of the Matilda’s Corner Police Station in St Andrew.
Several police officers on the scene said that the driver of the motor car — a bank supervisor — told them that she had fallen asleep around the steering wheel when the late afternoon incident occurred.
Security Minister Dwight Nelson, who is a member of the National Road Safety Council, bemoaned the accident and pleaded with motorists to take care while travelling so as not to endanger their lives or those of others. “This is a terrible start to 2011,” Nelson told the Observer at the scene of the tragedy. “If you are feeling tired or fatigued you have a responsibility to yourself and the members of the public who use the road to find a safe place to get some rest. I think it’s irresponsible to drive in a state of fatigue.
The Constabulary Communication Network — the police information arm — reported that about 5:45 pm, a white Toyota Avalon motorcar was travelling along Old Hope Road towards Liguanea when the driver lost control and crashed into the bus stop.