According to reliable reports, the bus, GT 22, was at the time providing its regular transfer of students, attending the International University of Health Sciences School of Medicine, located at West Farm.
Owner of the bus, Mr. Troy “Spuddy” Hendrickson told MiyVue.com, that the vehicle was engaged in the scheduled student pick up, for 12:00pm, travelling from the Royal St. Kitts Hotel, where the students reside, to the university, where the students were headed for classes and studies. The accident is said to have occurred at approximately 12:10pm, on the Frigate Bay Road, just east of the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
In his statement to MiyVue.com, police sergeant, Calvin Amory, from the Traffic Department, indicated it is the explanation of the driver, that while he was approaching a corner, an animal, (goat), ran across the road from the northern side, to the southern side, in front of the vehicle. Amory said that the driver further reported that he tried to swerve from the animal, but only losing control with the bus ending in the nearby drain, on one side.
The police confirm that fourteen passengers were on the bus, along with the driver, Mr. Livingstone Warner, of Fry’s Village, Basseterre.
Two passengers were taken to the hospital, complaining of injuries to their backs and legs, while another three, being taken for observations. All other passengers who, at the time, appeared to be unhurt, eventually continued their journey to the university, but were urged to report any pain or discomfort that may develop. The driver, Mr. Warner, also appeared to have escaped the accident without injury, though he was visibly disoriented and somewhat in shock.
As a result of the accident, traffic on the busy Frigate Bay Road was disrupted for over an hour, with some vehicles being diverted and others queuing along the road, up to a quarter mile, in either direction.
Mr. Hendrickson told MiyVue.com that, “It is fortunate that nobody appears to have been seriously hurt. One person went to the hospital in the ambulance but everybody else was able to move under their own power…no blood.”
Meanwhile, there was some damage to the vehicle, which is part of the fleet of buses used by Hendrickson’s Tour Shoppe operations that form part of Journey Mastrs, located in Frigate Bay. A more careful damage assessment is shortly expected, but already a crack in the wind screen and some damage to the left side of the bus, have been observed. Hendrickson said that the trip today with the students was simply a routine exercise, as part of his contract with the university.
