One gets the impression speaking to friends and colleagues of 18-year-old Brandon Powery that the young man was something of a jokester.
“He was a prankster, but it was always light-hearted,” said Sofi-Ann Gracey, a manager at Dolphin Cove where Mr. Powery had worked since early 2010. “He was just fun-loving.”
The teen’s life ended in tragedy when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle in West Bay late Sunday morning.
Royal Cayman Islands Police officials said the crash happened near the junction of Town Hall Road and Boltins Avenue.
According to police, Mr. Powery’s motorcycle had been “overtaking a number of vehicles, collided with an oncoming [Honda] CRV”.
Mr. Powery was taken to the hospital following the 10.47am crash and was receiving treatment until about 4.30pm when he was pronounced dead.
His death is the fifth to occur on Cayman Islands roads so far in 2011. Mr. Powery is also the second teenager to die in a vehicle accident on Grand Cayman this month. On 1 June, 19-year-old Jaime Evans was killed after his car went off the Esterley Tibbetts Highway in the overnight hours.
The 18-year-old Mr. Powery was a 2009 graduate of John Gray High School.
Mikaella Lacerda was Mr. Powery’s direct supervisor at work. She said he worked in the photography and video department, taking photos of tourists on trips to the dolphinarium and Stingray City in the North Sound.
“He was a sweet guy … he really loved the Stingray City trips,” Ms Lacerda said. “It’s such a shame, such a young fellow with such a good heart. It’s really just a big loss.”
In addition to Mr. Powery and Mr. Evans, three other people have died on Cayman Islands roads in 2011.
Twenty-five year-old Elmo Powell Alvaranga died in May in an early morning crash on Cayman Brac.
Elderly bicyclist Graham Rivers died on 22 April after his bike collided with a vehicle in North Side the night before.
An unidentified 64-year-old woman died on 16 May from injuries she suffered in a 10 May crash in West Bay. Her husband has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving in that crash.
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No disrespect to those grieving for Mr. Powery, but what happened to the driver of the CRV that he hit?
And the elephant in the room is that this young man was driving recklessly. There is an entire culture of young men in Cayman driving like they’re invincible on their donorcycles; weaving in between cars, going upwards of 100mph on Shamrock Road and the bypass by the dump, and revving their engines in some misplaced display of machismo.
There needs to be more training of young drivers in general and potential motorcyclists in specific. Perhaps even a 21 year old minimum age for operating a motorcycle.
Maybe Mr. Powery’s death will not have been in vain.