A fatal crash on Easter Monday has claimed the life of a Nigerian doctor in St Mary. At least three other doctors involved in the crash have since been hospitalised with injuries. The deceased, 36-year-old Ubung Etti, was a passenger in a blue Honda Fit motor vehicle.
The incident occurred early in the morning in the community of Castleton when a vehicle plunged over a precipice. The car was occupied by four doctors, who were heading to St Mary from Kingston, according to local news reports.
Reports state that a female doctor was driving the vehicle when the accident happened around 5:50 a.m. The initial report said that the driver, whose identity has not been revealed, reportedly lost control of the car while navigating a section of the Castleton main road.
A subsequent report detailed that the vehicle swerved away from an approaching vehicle to avoid a collision. This led to the vehicle veering off the roadway and hitting an embankment. The car then plummeted into a ravine, injuring all four occupants.
All of the doctors were rushed to the Annotto Bay Hospital. One of the doctors was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the other three remained in stable condition. Etti is a Nigerian doctor who joined the Internal Medicine Department at Annotto Bay Hospital in March.
The authorities did not release the names of the three survivors. However, it was reported that two of the surviving doctors are also originally from Nigeria. All three survivors had been serving at Annotto Bay Hospital in various departments for between three to six months.
The medical team at Annotto Bay Hospital is said to be devastated by the sudden loss. Dr Glenton Strachan, the Senior Medical Officer at the hospital, expressed deep sorrow during a brief statement to the media. Strachan said that the staff have access to grief counselling sessions to help as they go through this heart-wrenching mourning period. Investigations are ongoing into what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.