According to information received by MiyVue, the incident occurred at about 4:15 on the afternoon of Wednesday 24th November 2010 in the vicinity of Chicken Stone, Nevis.
Details about the occurrence remain sketchy however, this media house understands that the incident involved motor jeep P7629 which was travelling from Gingerland to Charlestown when the incident occurred. Police officers informed MiyVue that Alton Brown of Zetlands, Gingerland, was driving the vehicle when the unfortunate happening took place.
The victim, Tayvia Daniel of Hard Times, Gingerland, was pronounced dead on the scene by Dr. Shandy Jacobs and an autopsy was performed on her remains on Friday, 26th November, 2010, at Elliott’s Funeral Parlour by resident pathologist Dr. Adrian Nunes. MiyVue understands that according to the findings of the autopsy, little Tayvia died as a result of severe head injuries and haemorrhage.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing and to date, no arrests have been made.
During his weekly radio programme, “In Touch With the Premier”, Premier Parry took the opportunity to extend condolences to Tayvia’s family as they endure this period of difficulty.
He explained that according to his investigations, the Joycelyn Liburd Primary School student was a “very loving child” and “very polite”.
He implored persons to use this tragic incident as a reminder and an opportunity to make improvements in the way they use the island’s road network.
Speaking specifically to pedestrians, Parry explained, “…I am told that some pedestrians are not using the crossing and that we have at different places with the pedestrians not using them properly. There is no guarantee that (vehicles) will come to a standstill so it is very important that you give the driver time to see you before you move into the traffic because he might not be able to stop immediately or he might have a brake problem. You never know. These vehicles don’t always work that well.
“This has nothing to do with the young lady. This is (only) taking the opportunity now that we have people’s attention (to remind) that people must be very careful how they use the pedestrian crossings. And I would suggest that the police as well have some lessons on radio, especially on television where people can see how the crossings should be used. And the crossing guards themselves would need to be a little more alert and to be aware of what is right and what is not right.”
Parry also spoke to motorists and entreated them to drive with caution and to be observant of other road users.
“Of course, the other things is that our driver’s need to drive cautiously, especially when they get into certain areas. You know the areas where there is high population, there is movement of people, and therefore you need to slow down…You can’t be in such a hurry that you can’t slow down. So I think we need to talk to ourselves especially since we have more traffic on the road over the past few weeks…”