A woman was killed and three others seriously injured in a four-vehicle crash near Big Gate in St Mary on the North Coast Highway between Rio Nuevo and Stewart Town on Friday morning, June 12.
Dead is Annetta Mitchell-Hinds 37, of Mango Valley, St Mary. The driver of a taxi that was transporting Mitchell-Hinds, Camielo Fox is in the St. Ann’s Bay hospital in critical condition. It is reported he received head injuries and has several broken bones. A 13-year-old schoolboy was also injured the crash, but his condition is said to not be serious. A fourth person in the Toyota Corolla taxi, a female is said to be in serious condition at Kingston Public Hospital, where she was taken from the St Ann’s Bay hospital. Her name was not confirmed by The Times, though she is known as Molly.
Mitchell-Hinds was travelling in the taxi, from Mango Valley, toward Ocho Rios, with the driver and at least two others around 7:20 a.m. She was on her way to work at the St. Mary Country Club, near Three Hills, when the collision took place at the entrance to Rio Nuevo Resorts.
Reports are that the taxi driver was taking up a position to the right of the lane to drop off one of the passengers at the intersection with Rio Nuevo Resorts when the Toyota Corolla was hit from behind by a Hi-Ace passenger bus and into the path of a Tank Weld panel truck, heading in the opposite direction.The truck pushed the car out of the way, went out of control and ran across the road, stopping against a fence near to a power substation.
Another taxi was also hit.
Mitchell was flung from the Toyota Corolla and was reportedly run over by the out of control truck. Graphic pictures released on Facebook and other social media have shown pictures of the woman cut in half, with the lower half of her body crushed.
Traffic was diverted from the main road in the vicinity of Stewart Town.
A loving person
In an interview with North Coast Times, brother of Annetta Mitchell-Hinds, Owen Wollery described his sister as an honest, hardworking and helpful young woman who went the extra mile for providing for her young daughter, said to be nine years old. She is separated from her husband with whom she had lived in Mile End, St Ann. “It very sad what happened to her. I was the one who got the job for her at St. Mary Country Club for her in housekeeping. Otherwise she did baking and was always hustling to provide for her daughter,” explained Mr Wollery.
A resident of Mango Valley told The Times that Mrs Mitchell- Hinds had only a day earlier borrowed some money from him for her fare to go to the job for a few days. He said she was a woman who did any honest work she could get to take care of herself and daughter.
Her brother, Mr Wollery added that he heard his sister fifteen minutes prior to the accident talking and he was so shocked to be called later to hear that his sister had died. Mr Wollery also said the family is not taking it well as another brother had fainted and Mrs Mitchell-Hinds’ mother had had to pay a visit to the doctor Saturday.Mr Wollery said that he is not sure how his sister’s daughter is surviving as the child’s father has since taken her back to Mile End.Community members of Mango Valley who also spoke to The Times, Cathelyn Nicely and ‘Dawn’ expressed similar sentiments that Annetta Mitchell-Hinds was a loving and hardworking girl. Her death has left the community of Mango Valley in deep mourning.
Haunted Area
Residents of Mango Valley and from other neighbouring communities who converged on the scene told the North Coast Times that the area is said to be cursed as several other road crashes have occurred at the very same spot where collision took place Friday morning. Others have alleged that taxi operators have reported seeing persons at nights stopping cars and when they stop, those persons have disappeared.
