Speeding cars wipe out jerk stand

Police say they will be increasing their efforts to cut back on road racing along Shamrock Road after two speeding cars wiped out the Red Bay jerk stand and the Prospect Playhouse sign over the weekend. 

The cars, which were both travelling east along Shamrock Road, smashed into the jerk stand and the large roadside sign for the theatre around 1.12am Sunday when both drivers lost control, police said in a news release Tuesday morning. 

Both drivers, ages 18 and 21, and two passengers were taken to the hospital. The drivers were admitted to the hospital with injuries that police described as non-life threatening. The passengers were treated and released. 

Police said the crash remains under investigation. 

Jerk stall owner Andre Alexander said the counter of the jerk stall was damaged in the crash, but he hoped to reopen his business later this week. Paul de Freitas, theatre manager of the Prospect Playhouse, said the sign was a complete write off. 

As well as being unhappy that his jerk stall was damaged, Mr. Alexander is also concerned that if the road racing along that stretch is not addressed, a pedestrian or another driver will be next to fall victim to the cars that speed along the road. 

“It was two kids racing in the street in the wee hours of the morning. They lost control and ended up in the jerk stand,” he said. 

Fortunately, as it was early in the morning, the jerk stand was closed and no customers or staff were about at the time.  

“We closed around 10.30pm. It was freezing and it was raining. Those are not the kind of conditions you want to be driving fast in,” he said. 

Mr. Alexander said groups of young people gather in their cars in the early hours Sunday in the area to race along the road.  

“This needs to be quashed. This isn’t just about what happened to the jerk stand. You have people walking home after work in restaurants along that road at that time of night. There could be loss of life,” he said.  

The two cars involved in Sunday morning’s crash were a Honda Accord and a Toyota Altezza. 

“We have gotten complaints that people tend to be speeding in that area,” said Angelique Howell, a chief inspector with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. “It’s something that we are addressing and there will be some focus on this area.” 

She added: “We ask the public if they see these things, take the registration number and call any police station and we will look into it.” 

The damage caused by the crash means that audience members planning to attend the upcoming Stomp production, which begins Friday, 8 March, will not be able to rely on the usually prominent, lit-up, high-positioned sign indicating where to turn off for the theatre from the main road. The turn off is immediately before the Lighthouse School.  

Mr. de Freitas said he did not know how long it would take to replace the sign.  

“It was damaged beyond repair. I’ve asked the sign company to come out and evaluate what the cost of replacement will be and we’ll be putting in a claim against the driver,” he said. 

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact any police station or the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service’s Traffic Management unit at 946-6254. 

Sunday morning’s double crash on Shamrock Road was the latest in a number of road incidents that occurred over the weekend. 

Four people were injured and taken to the hospital following a two-car collision around 10am on Saturday morning, 2 March, at the junction of Shedden Road, North Sound Way and Thomas Russell Way.  

None of the injuries were life threatening, police said. The roadway was blocked for about an hour following the crash. 

Later on Saturday, a 33-year-old woman lost control of her Jeep Wrangler as she exited the Island Heritage roundabout on the Esterley Tibbetts Highway. The jeep flipped over the guard rail and landed on its side in the bushes on the roadside. Police said the driver refused medical attention and appeared to have sustained no injuries.