The horrific tragedy in East End where four lives were lost and two others are lying seriously injured in hospital was bad enough.

However, the incident has become even worse.

I have only minutes ago received a press release form the RCIPS that prompted me to write this Editorial immediately.

We can all speculate at how the accident happened and who was the cause and if other events were attributable to it.

Nearly all of us were not there nor witness to what happened.

In my editorial two days ago on the horror I could not write anything and instead published prayers and poems that offered some solace but never enough. I asked for prayers not only for the victims and their families and friends but also for the police officer who was the first responder to the awful scene.

I cannot imagine his reaction to what he must have seen. No nightmare can prepare us for the terrible and bloody scene that he was confronted with. Nothing.

Now some stupid lunatic or lunatics have targeted this police officer. What stone cold black hearted miserable and mindless low life (lives) could target the police officer’s vehicle that “suffered substantial damage, which has added further stress to him and traumatized his wife and young child”.

The police officer was doing his job and it was not his vehicle that hit a car carrying tourists.

There is no doubt one of the the culprits was SPEED. And SPEED kills when the person at the wheel is on the wrong side of the road and hits another vehicle that is now in the same lane and travelling towards it.

Speed in itself doesn’t kill anyone. However, it two vehicles are travelling at 25mph and hit each other I doubt very much if the same injuries and deaths will be the same if one of the cars is travelling at 75mph.

There is now a big debunking of the statement “SPEED KILLS”. In fact you can even find statistics that say the opposite. Speed actually lowers accident rates.

If anyone supports that argument let me refer you to the following article:

From “Speed as a Contributory Factor to Road Traffic Crashes”

There is a great variety of contributory factors that lead to road traffic crashes, most important of which are: the level of driver training; the general attitude of drivers; driver behaviour and the level of driver self-discipline, self regulation and law compliance. All of these relate to human factors in the road traffic environment.

Ever since the invention of the motor vehicle, speed as a factor in road crashes was a bone of contention. There are generally two schools of thought about the relationship between road traffic crashes and speed – the first group saying that there is a relationship (“speed kills”) and those that say there is no relationship. The second group also states that all drivers should be assumed to be responsible and therefore be allowed to select and drive at any speed that they are comfortable with. The second group also almost always refers to some Western European countries as “typical” examples of countries with high speeds and low accident rates. What this group tend (or prefer) to forget is the fact that these countries most probably also have an excellent maintained road network; vehicles that are continuously maintained to a high standard; drivers that are generally well trained and skilled, with much better attitudes and more courteous driver behaviour; and where drunk drivers and pedestrians pose no problem due to a high level of self-discipline.

The fact is that in Europe, according to the Commission of the European Communities Road Safety Action Programme, published in June 2003, excessive and improper speed is the cause of about a third (33%) of fatal and serious accidents and a major factor in determining the severity of injuries. The European Union report further elaborates on the role of alcohol, drugs and fatigue in the road traffic environment and states that drinking and driving was found to be responsible for no less than 10,000 deaths per year in Europe.

In a study undertaken in the United States of America (USA) in the late 1990’s, it was found that speed contributes to 18,7% of road crashes. The contribution of alcohol was in the order of 18,2%. In Australian research in the 1990’s it was found that the risk of involvement in a crash in a 60 km/h zone doubles for every 5 km/h in excess of the speed limit.

SOURCE: https://www.arrivealive.co.za/Speed-Factor

Nowhere does it cite a police officer doing his job!

In the Press Release the Cayman Islands Commissioner of Police commented “I FIND THIS INCIDENT VERY TROUBLING WHERE AN OFFICER IS DILIGENTLY GOING ABOUT HIS WORK TO PROTECT AND SERVE THE COMMUNITY, IS A FIRST RESPONDER AND WITNESS TO A TRAGIC MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WITH MULTIPLE DEATHS, AND IN HIS OWN DISTRICT WHERE HE LIVES AND WORKS, IS TARGETED WITH THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE AND DAMAGE TO HIS PERSONAL PROPERTY AS WELL AS THE CONCERNS FOR HIS FAMILY, THIS IS AKIN TO AN ATTACK ON CAYMAN SOCIETY AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. THIS IS REPREHENSIBLE AND EVERY EFFORT WILL BE BROUGHT TO BEAR TO LOCATE AND ARREST THOSE RESPONSIBLE”.

Now an already highly tragic incident is even worse. Continue praying for the injured, the families and friends of the deceased and the first responder – the police officer!