Herman Byrd died at the weekend after losing control of his blue Mazda just outside East End, skidding off the road and into a bank of trees.

A district police patrol discovered the Sea View Road scene at 10:24 on Friday night. Officers said the victim was apparently travellng west at high speed and lost control of the car as he negotiated a right-hand corner.

Skidding through the oncoming lane and off the road, he collided with a group of almond and coconut trees, coming to rest on the shoulder.

An ambulance rushed the 42-year-old driver the Cayman Islands Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival at about 11:50.

Officers from the traffic–management unit are investigating.

The accident is the latest in a spate of late-night, apparently high-speed wrecks that have killed four people since late November. Police are still investigating whether alcohol was a factor.

On 28 December, Dwayne Cayasso, 26, lost control of his Honda Civic hitting a tree near the western end of Linford Pierson Highway. A passenger survived, but Mr Caysso died the next day after being taken off life support.

On December 23, Philippine national Richard Alutaya Rivera, 39, died when his eastbound car skidded off Shamrock Road near Watler Estates in Bodden Town, hitting a tree just before 2am. Police said he had been speeding.

Finally, St Matthews University School of Medicine student Richard Martin, 52, was killed at 12:30am on 30 November when his Honda Logo, traveling north on the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, was hit by a southbound Chevrolet that had veered onto the opposite shoulder.

Police have called on anyone with information in relation to Mr Byrd’s death to contact the Bodden Town Police Station at 947-2240 or Crime Stoppers at 800-8477 (TIPS).