Good Samaritan unhappy with treatment by some police at accident scene

Kendal Davis, one of the first persons who arrived on the scene of the deadly vehicular accident in Ratho Mill last Friday thinks that the actions of the police first responders left much to be desired.

Last Friday, November 27, at around 10:45 a.m., a crash claimed the lives of Park Hill residents Oswald DeFreitas, who is said to be in his 40s and his neighbour Jillian Nanton,{{more}} said to be in her 50s. A number of persons were also injured.

Davis, a heavy equipment operator, who is originally from Richland Park, but now lives at Largo Heights, says that he and some co-workers came upon the accident scene while on their way to the Windward side of the country and he at once knew he had to do something to help.

He said that when they approached the crash site, they saw a jeep on its side that had crashed into a minivan. On observation, Davis said that he saw that the driver of the minivan, Joel Veira, was pinned in the driver’s seat.

“This is the second time that I experience something like this…I came around when the accident happen and we see people surround the vehicle and when we approach, we see two persons pin up in the jeep; the van driver pin up and the police just around not trying to assist the man to get him out,” said Davis, who revealed that he and a number of persons pushed the SUV back on its four wheels and then used a piece of heavy equipment to assist them in freeing the driver of the minivan.

“…So, we as the backhoe operator and truck driver have to go to the man assis­tance and pull out the man, else the whole public would have come meet the man inside dey pin up still,” said Davis, when SEARCHLIGHT interviewed him a little after 12 noon.

He said that after he and a few civilians managed to free the driver of the van, the police put the injured man in a vehicle and then rudely chased the helpers from the accident scene.

According to Davis, a Rastafarian man who was asked by the police to leave, moved away and while standing on the side of the road asked a policeman why they were being so rude to the persons who had helped.

Davis said that an officer named ‘Bailey’ was extremely aggressive and made a motion like he wanted to hit the Rastafarian because the man had questioned the police’s response.

“…Bailey done raise he hand to slap the man,” said Davis, who stressed that when he arrived on the scene, in his opinion, the police officers present there did not operate as if they knew what to do.

“We use the heavier machine to get him out. To me it seems as if his right foot and left hand break and he get some small cut,” Davis said, opining that if the two people in the SUV were alive and pinned in the vehicle, “just to the police procedure, they would have died.”

He added, “It’s a sad moment because it could have been me or you or somebody for you and we in the public have to learn to take care of one another, even self the police try put up a resistance. They (police) have to realize that we in the public had to assist the people them; you just can’t leave the thing to go down like that.

“I mean, we come and meet the accident and the driver there pin up. Through pain and frustration you never know what could happen. He was bawling for help, the public help take him out, not even the police. Up to now no ambulance nothing,” said Davis who added that from his count, the van was carrying over 10 persons at the time of the crash, some of whom went to hospital.

During the ordeal, a female officer from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in­structed a cameraman from a local media entity who was filming the scene from the steps of a nearby private house to stop filming.

When it was time to remove the bodies from the scene, a male officer demanded that persons who were in the yard of the same private property move away. A number of persons refused to move, stating that they were on private property and did not have to move as they were not in the police’s way or committing any crime. (LC)