Latest road fatality leaves many in shock

POPULAR AND FRIENDLY Samuel Elisha Jack became the country’s most recent road fatality last weekend, leaving many in shock, including one of his closest friends who never expected him to die in this manner.

“To be honest with you Elisha is the last person I expect to get his death driving a vehicle,” Curtis Bowman, owner and pharmacist at Bowman’s Pharmacy in Kingstown said.

“What I can say from my experience is that he is a very careful driver. I really don’t know if he ever overtake anything. But I was really shocked and surprised. Up to today I really can’t comprehend, I can’t understand how that accident took place,” Bowman said.

Just two months prior to meeting his death behind the wheel, the 68-year-old driver avoided injury when the brakes cut out on him while driving someone else’s vehicle.

Because of his experience as a professional operator, “…He was able to manoeuvre it to safety. And this is like just a couple yards of driving,” Bowman recalled.

Speaking about last weekend’s accident, the pharmacist admitted, “It’s still bugging my brain to understand what happened and I doubt people will ever know what happen.”

“…As his good friend I really can’t understand. Knowing him and knowing how he drive, very careful and the experience that he had, I really don’t know. I am yet to try to figure out that. I am hearing a lot of stories about what might gone wrong with the vehicle, what happened but I really don’t know,” Bowman disclosed.

The police have issued a release stating that they are conducting investigations into the April 23 occurrence.

The information that the officers have gathered thus far is that at 4:45 p.m motor vehicle P-411, a silver Toyota Harrier jeep owned by Delbert ‘McKie’ Ledger of Akers, was being driven by Jack. Ledger was a passenger in the vehicle while ‘Elisha’ was driving along the Calder Ridge public road.

It is alleged that the driver lost control of the vehicle and it ran off the road.

Photos being circulated on social media show the vehicle crashed into a wall and the airbag activated.

Jack was met in the vehicle unresponsive and pronounced dead on the scene. Ledger was taken to the hospital and was known to be warded there up until Wednesday.

Bowman recalled that he heard about the death when the person who worked with ‘Elisha’ called and asked if he heard about it and told him that Jack had died.

Bowman happened to be at the hospital at the time and “I saw a vehicle came in with Richland Park persons on it and when I inquire they told me that there was an accident at Calder Ridge which the guy McKie, the guy Ledger, was involved with him and that Elisha die on the spot…” Bowman went straight to the scene and met the vehicle crashed into the wall and Jack inside of it.

“I really had no thoughts after that. I mean I was in shock. I could not believe that…” he said.

The two have known each other most of their lives. Jack, originally from Park Hill, moved to Richland Park as a child and was raised by Bowman’s grandmother.

However, they became close friends in 1996 when Jack returned to St Vincent after living in Trinidad for a period of time.

“Elisha was a very friendly cordial person. I mean easy going. I think that he always be on the call of duty. I mean no matter [the] task you put him to do he will complete it carefully and make sure that whatever he is doing he do it to the best of his ability,” Bowman recalled.

Many described Jack as having impeccable manners and unique attentiveness.

He was a father to one son, a husband, an avid cricket fan and at one point a sea captain.

“…He was indeed a good man and we will miss him a lot and I know all those who came in contact with him one way or another will miss him a lot. They will miss him just for the hello, maybe just for the good morning, just for his kindness,” his friend concluded.

Jack worked with Grand Bazaar as a driver for at least ten years.

He still kept in close contact with the staff at the establishment and was supposed to be with them on the Saturday of his death but was unable to do so.

“He was a kind soul and will be greatly missed. You want favours done, you want anything done and you figure you might not get it done yourself you will just give it to him and he gets it done,” one of the workers said.

Between the three of them present at the store, there was a constant stream of compliments for the Calder Ridge resident.

“Heart broken,” they said, in response to how they feel about the matter.

“Speechless, lost for words.”

The co-workers said that most of St Vincent knew him, as a team player and someone you could depend on.

When he left their presence he always told them that he loved them, and, as a Christian, Seventh Day Adventist, wished God’s blessings on them.