Weekend car crash witnesses lament Cayman’s dangerous roads

A two-car collision late Saturday evening ended with one woman needing to be removed from her vehicle by emergency medical technicians and fire officers.

The high-speed collision occurred at the junction of Eastern Avenue and School Road shortly after 11pm on Saturday 25 May.

A witness spoke to the Cayman Compass about the accident, and Cayman’s increasingly dangerous roads.

“This is getting from bad to worse!” said the irate man, recalling how he was nearly run over moments earlier.

“You can’t even reason with a bredren on the side of the road because these people out here driving like they are late for their own funeral,” he said, asking not to be named.

Both vehicles received extensive damage.

As of Sunday evening, police had not provided an update on the condition of anyone involved in the incident, nor on their investigation.

“All I heard was the Honda Fit speeding, coming down from by the gas station, and right as he reached the junction, another car was turning out, so he swung out to miss that car but hit the curb, bounced back and slammed into the back of other car,” the man told the Compass.

The man said the driver lost control of the car after the collision, which was then positioned towards him and his friend, who were standing on the pavement a few feet away.

“Next thing I know, this car is coming speeding down on me and I start trying to back up, but my feet kept hitting a parking block,” he said. “Is the grace of God why I was able to get out the way.”

Pointing at a black scuff mark on the side of a navy blue building, the man continued, “See right here, this is where he come run up into the building! If I never moved, he would run me over and come crash right here. Is a dead man you would be looking at if I never move!”

Other bystanders also recalled the accident.

“All I heard was a loud bang. I thought it was a gunshot, but when I  looked up, I saw all the smoke and the one car spinning,” said a woman.

“Wasn’t it just two weeks ago three people died in a car crash?” asked another.

“Where could he need to go at this kind of speed?”

Accidents are on the rise

Accidents like the one on Saturday evening have become an all-too-common occurrence.

According to data from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, 10,716 accidents were recorded during 2023, which was a 14% increase over 2022.

The staggering number of collisions is the most-ever recorded in a single year and represents an average of nine accidents per day.

During their annual crime and traffic statistics press conference, police stated that the main cause of accidents was drivers who were speeding, distracted or intoxicated.

The increase in traffic accidents comes amidst a concerted effort by multiple government departments and agencies to try to counter the trend as part of the ‘Road to Zero’ campaign.

The ambitious plan, which was launched in 2023, seeks to eliminate road fatalities entirely by 2038.

“The [National Road Safety Strategy] addresses critical areas for action, such as enhancing driver education, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety, upgrading road infrastructure, and leveraging technology for better enforcement,” said Transport Minister Jay Ebanks at the launch of the campaign.

“The strategy also emphasises the importance of community engagement and education to instil a culture of road safety.”

Some of the upgrades since the strategy’s inception include more clearly defined cycling and pedestrian lanes, speed signs painted on roads to make them more visible for motorists, a new eastern traffic policing unit and new roads being built.

However, fatal accidents like the one that occurred on 13 May suggest those steps might not be enough in the eyes of the public.

“Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done soon, because these drivers [don’t] care about their own lives, so they certainly don’t care about anybody else’s,” one of the observers of Saturday’s crash said.