A Searchlight Commemorative Article: Wall at Ratho Mill collapses on car killing driver (2008)

By: KIRBY JACKSON

AN INVESTIGATION INTO the circumstances surrounding the collapse of a retaining wall at Ratho Mill last Friday morning that claimed the life of Patricia Jack-Bowman has begun.

While nothing can bring back the kindhearted, loving, one-of-a-kind woman that was Patricia Jack-Bowman, Chief Engineer Brent Bailey, in a press conference on Tuesday, September 23, along with Acting Prime Minister Michael Browne, gave the assurance that no stone will be left unturned in the investigation.

About 60 feet of retaining wall from a property owned by Alex and Lisa Jack came tumbling down on Jack Bowman’s vehicle as she headed to her restaurant at Canash.

The investigation will hopefully determine whether an act of God was assisted by the negligence of man.

“The investigation has started, and I have already been in touch with Planning (division) regarding the construction of that wall,” the Chief Engineer assured SEARCHLIGHT in a subsequent interview.

He said that all the factors will be taken into consideration as the authorities figure out what happened, and what all contributed to it.

One undeniable contributor to the tragedy was the eight inches of rain that was recorded over a 48-hour period from 2:30 a.m Friday morning.

The rain was caused by the passing of a tropical wave which interacted with a trough system between Thursday, September 18 and Saturday, September 20.