BRSA calls for crackdown on illegal road users after latest hit and run

The Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA) wants to see a firm and heavy crackdown on illegal road users.

This strong statement comes from BRSA president and former police officer Roland Lowe, who spoke to Barbados TODAY in response to the island’s latest hit-and-run road fatality, which occurred along Rices Main Road, St Philip, Friday night.

Quiara Callender, 19, who was in the company of a neighbour, lost her life after being struck by a vehicle around 8:30 pm. The driver of the vehicle did not stop.

In response, Lowe said the incident was troubling, and given the previous hit-and-run incident, which involved the 18-year-old daughter of popular Soca artiste Omar Marzville McQuilkin earlier in the year, he called for a greater effort in rounding up delinquent road users.

“I think that what needs to be done, is that there needs to be a greater effort relative to policing the roads at certain junctions and locations, where police officers can conduct some traffic stops and investigations. Just to verify that some persons are legit on the road.”

He further added: “All of these things are really concerning, and as I would have said in early communications with the media, it would tend to give rise to the suspicion that some of these persons are not legal on the road.

“Road use itself comes with a certain level of risk; you know that when you get into your vehicle and get on the road, you know that you are considering some level of risk, but then you have some persons who are not trained to obey the rules of the road, who are not legal so to speak on the road, then that is another level of risk involved [for road users]. So that is a great concern,” he explained.

When a team from Barbados TODAY visited Callender’s home on Saturday, family members were not available for a comment.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said the residents were shaken by the senseless tragedy which took the life of the former Parkinson student.

“The general consensus in the area is that we are saddened and even disturbed that someone would hit a young child and not stop, cutting down a 19-year-old in the prime of her life.

“We are sad [and] we are waiting for the police to do their investigations. This is a very hard time for the family.” (SB)