Vincentians mourn Barbados crash

The horrific accident in which six lives were lost and 37 others injured in Barbados on Sunday, has left relatives of one of the deceased here in St. Vincent still trying to come to grips with the loss of their loved one.{{more}}

Dead is 35-year-old Adrian Franklin of Lot 2, Oughterson Park, St Phillip.

Franklin, the son of Vincentian Jacqueline Paynter-Franklin and her husband Boswell, was on board a coach, BT4 traveling to the popular Party Monarch competition, one of the biggest shows of the Crop-Over festival.

Just after 11 a.m., the bus, belonging to the Barbados Transport Co-operative Society, slammed into a wall at Joe’s River, St Joseph. Franklin’s wife Evena, 36, was also a passenger on the bus. She was hospitalized with a shattered wrist and broken ribs. The accident has been described as the worst traffic accident on the island in 62 years.

Father of the deceased, Boswell Franklin said his son was a young and ambitious businessman. Franklin said his first-born was “one of the best persons in the world.”

Retired educator Annelle Thomas, aunt of the deceased (his mother’s sister), said that Franklin was a pleasant man and was loved by many. She recalled him being an avid lover of sports and a devoted family man. Thomas added that the family is still trying to cope and recognizes that nothing can be done at this time. “We are holding fast to God and just waiting on his will.”

Franklin, the managing director of FYS Distributors Inc would have turned 36 in September. He leaves behind his sons Christopher, eight, and Jared, three.(KW)