Of the 21 primary school students who were involved in a crash on Tuesday, eight were left injured after the bus they were travelling on overturned in Gordon Town, St. Andrew.
According to reports, the children were students of St. Martin De Porres Primary and the Louise Bennett-Coverly Primary School. They were being transported by a white Toyota Hiace along the Dublin Castle main road when the vehicle developed mechanical issues and shut down.
The driver is said to have heard bubbling sounds before the bus stopped working. After the bus shut down, the passengers vacated the vehicle while the driver investigated the issue and later reboarded the bus after he was able to restart it.
However, when he attempted to drive off, the bus shut off, ran down the hill, mounted a banking, and then overturned onto its top. Reports state that the driver sustained burns on his arms and back, and one of his arms appeared to have been broken during the crash.
The driver and the eight injured students were rushed to the University Hospital of the West Indies for treatment. Senator Marlon Morgan, the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, shared that the vast majority of the students involved in the crash were treated and released.
According to Senator Morgan, only three individuals remain hospitalised, and they are in stable condition. Morgan further shared that the Ministry of Education will be deploying a team of counsellors to the schools to help students and staff process the trauma.
While there were no fatalities in the bus crash, another crash in the parish left one woman dead. The deceased has been identified as Greta McKenzie, a resident of Jerry Gully.
The incident occurred at about 2:20 p.m. when McKenzie, along with five other passengers, was travelling in a Toyota Probox motor, which was being driven by another person along the Irish Town main road.
The car reportedly veered off the road and then over a precipice. McKenzie, who was pinned inside the vehicle, was later removed by first responders and transported to the hospital. She was pronounced dead at the medical facility while the other injured passengers were admitted for treatment.
