Three hospitalized in weekend accident at Chateaubelair

Tue Mar 18, 2014

by: Taranjah Yaw

A calm head and steady nerves may have helped avert what could have been a fatal accident on the hillside overlooking the town of Chateaubelair last Saturday.{{more}}

Passenger van HV363, driven by Elias Porter, was returning to Chateaubelair from Kingstown when the accident occurred. Porter told SEARCHLIGHT that he had just driven over the hill from Petit Bordel and was about to turn the corner to enter Chateaubelair, when he realized that the brake was malfunctioning.

Porter said that he had to make a sharp turn, causing the vehicle to flip over on its passenger side. Porter escaped unscathed, but the seven passengers and the conductor were taken to the Chateaubelair hospital; three were later transferred to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in Kingstown. The van did not suffer significant damage, but the front windscreen, along with the windows on the passenger side were broken and there were dents and scrapes where the vehicle slid after it flipped over.

The police visited the scene and carried out their investigations, after which the vehicle was pushed upright by the driver, with help from some spectators. Porter told SEARCHLIGHT that he is happy that no one was injured too seriously and that the experience will remain with him for the rest of his life.