Accident in Chateaubelair leaves man hospitalized

Five men from North Leeward are lucky to be alive after the truck they were riding in flipped over on Sunday.

The accident took place about 1:20 p.m. on Barracks Hill just below the Chateaubelair Hospital and about 15 yards above the police station.{{more}}

Barracks Hill is without a doubt the steepest motorable incline in North Leeward and the driver of the Toyota Dyna light truck Phillip “Tomato” Anthony told SEARCHLIGHT that he had just unloaded about ten sacks of sand at the top of the hill and was driving down, when the truck slipped into neutral and picked up speed.

Anthony said that he tried to ditch the truck in a vacant lot but the truck flipped over and came to rest on its wheels across the road. “Only the mercies of God that saved us,” Anthony said.

Four men were riding on the back of the truck at the time. One of them managed to escape unharmed, while the three others suffered severe bruises and cuts. Alban Howe appeared to be more seriously hurt than the others, and although he remained conscious through out his ordeal, he complained of pains in his back and had difficulty moving his hands. Howe was sent to Milton Cato Memorial Hospital after he was examined and treated by Dr Francis Murray, who lives in the area, and was rushed to the Chateaubelair hospital after he heard about the accident.

The other men were treated and released. The driver apparently did not suffer any injury.