9078: 22 Haitians in Accident in Nassau, Bahamas (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Schweissing <dan_schweissing@hotmail.com>

National News
Haitians in accident

Released Monday, September 17, 2001 at 10:07 am EST by Vanessa Rolle

Girl, 15, serious after truck with 22 Haitians overturns

By VANESSA C ROLLE

Guardian Staff Reporter

A 15-year-old girl is in serious condition after another 21 Haitians were 
injured in a traffic accident off Carmichael Road yesterday. The 22 Haitian 
nationals were travelling on board a small white pick-up truck.

It was reported that the group, who were travelling on the back of the 
truck, were returning home from church shortly after 12 noon when the 
overcrowded vehicle overturned and landed on top of them.

Persons injured ranged from age five to 61 years.

An eyewitness reported that, "There were two cars behind the truck and I 
felt as if the truck made a sharp turn. And because of it being overloaded 
with about 20 persons in the back of it, it just flipped over and landed on 
about half of them. Then it flipped again and it happen to bounce off them."

The eyewitness said that he proceeded to help those who seemed to be 
injured, pulled them from the truck and tried to made them comfortable.

The majority of passengers in the truck were mostly children, with some of 
them receiving bruises and lacerations to the head and arms.

Another eyewitness reported that when the ambulance first arrived on the 
scene, only one driver and one paramedic was on the scene.

" I don't see how that could possibly happen with so many people injured," 
the eyewitness said.

Two ambulances were on the scene with their medical teams around 1 p.m. but 
that was not sufficient manpower to handle such a tragedy and emergency 
medical technicians from Doctors Hospital were also summoned to the scene.

Some of the injured persons also had to be transported to the hospital in 
police vehicles.

Princess Margaret Hospital officials yesterday confirmed that the 22 
accident victims were treated at the hospital, with most of them 
fortunately, only having sustained minor injuries.


Copyright (c) 2001 by Nassau Guardian



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