Four road deaths recorded since the start of the year

With just three days into the New Year, at least four road users have been killed in four fatal crashes.

All four victims are males according to the Island Traffic Authority (ITA).

The latest victim is the driver of a private motor car whose vehicle crashed into a concrete wall in Denbigh, Clarendon early Friday morning. He has been identified as 35-year-old Christopher Robertson of Race Track in the parish.

According to the police, about 12:43 am, Robertson was driving a 2011 white Toyota Probox on the Muirhead main road in Denbigh in a westerly direction when, upon reaching a section of roadway, the vehicle which was speeding made contact with the left sidewalk before spinning around and colliding with a concrete gate column.

Robertson sustained head injuries and was extracted from the vehicle by firefighters. He was pronounced dead at the May Pen Hospital.

Robertson’s death brings to two, the number of people killed in fatal collisions in Clarendon since the start of the year. On Thursday a pedal cyclist died after what was reported to be a head-on collision with a Jamaica Defence Force service vehicle.

Two pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes on New Year’s Day in separate incidents in St Ann and St Andrew.

Meanwhile, the latest figures provided by the ITA on Friday shows that 365 people perished in motor vehicle crashes in 2024. This is 60 fewer deaths than the 425 that were recorded in 2023. A record 488 people were killed on the nation’s roads in 2022 while 487 died in 2021.

The National Road Safety Council is pushing for a big 20 per cent reduction in road fatalities in 2025 that would see the figure fall below 300 for the first time in many years.