Easter weekend accidents a record for SVG

A record number of motor vehicle accidents took place here over the Easter weekend.{{more}}

Police say that 16 accidents, one of which was fatal, were reported between Thursday, April 17 and Monday, April 21.

Corporal 374 Phillip King of the traffic department told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview on Wednesday that more accidents may have taken place, but only 16 were reported.

“For the longest while, there have not been so many accidents in one weekend. The most we might have was probably 12 or 14 for one weekend…,” King told SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday.

According to King, most of the accidents took place in the out-districts.

“The countryside had the most accidents, between the Calliaqua district up to Georgetown district… This is the most for one weekend,” King said.

Out of the 16 recorded accidents, Kingstown recorded six.

King added that most of these vehicles involved in the accidents were omnibuses and private vehicles.

In 2013, there were only seven recorded motor vehicular accidents over the Easter weekend.

King, who has spent 15 years at the traffic department, urged motorists to drive within their limitations and learn to observe the rules that govern the roads.

“If we do that, we would see a reduction in road accidents in St Vincent and the Grenadines,” he added.

He also revealed that the majority of last weekend’s accidents were as a result of the negligence of motorists.

“Drivers need to be more responsible. They need to not only care about themselves, but other persons who share the road….”

Driver errors played a big part in what happened over the weekend, he added.

On April 18, Derron Shallow, 23, a mechanic from Mesopotamia, succumbed to injuries sustained when the motorcycle he was riding reportedly ran off the Fountain public road and landed in a drain, shortly after 2 p.m.

He died at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. (KW)