Ian Allen, Staff Photographer
Fruit vending is very popular at Flat Bridge. Here, several vendors are seen in conversation.Garwin Davis, Assistant News Editor
FOR MANY motorists, approaching the Gorge Road, nestled neatly between the areas of Bog Walk and Spanish Town, is always a daunting task - eerie some will say. That's because there lies the 'Flat Bridge', the taker of many lives, twelve since 1999, and perhaps the "spookiest bridge" on which to drive across anywhere in the country.
Nearly sixty yards in length and stretched over the dreaded Rio Cobre River, the stories surrounding this particular bridge, built in the eighteenth century and a national monument, have been around for decades. Some of them are even legendary. No one knows for sure the actual number of persons who have lost their lives while crossing Flat Bridge but according to residents in the area, the figure may well be over a hundred. But while the St. Catherine police are quick to attribute most of the accidents to "careless and reckless driving", residents believe otherwise.
"I have lived here all my life and have seen many strange happenings," explained Devon McLaughlin, a fruit vendor in the area. "I am not saying that carelessness has not accounted for some of the accidents on Flat Bridge but there have been many which are hard to explain. I don't need anybody to tell me that this place is haunted - I just know it is."
McLaughlin, who is also a diver and is claiming to have saved 29 lives in his over 20 years living in the area, attempts to justify his belief. "I was sitting here one evening last year, about 7:30 p.m. with my brother when I saw a vehicle coming to a stop on approaching the bridge," he said. "It was coming from the Bog Walk area and was occupied by two persons (a man and a woman). Both came out of the car with the man going to the front and opening the bonnet. I immediately called out to them, asking if they needed help. The man indicated that he needed a wrecker. He also behaved as if he didn't want to be bothered so we left them alone. A small truck soon arrived on the scene and stopped by the car. We watched as they tied the car to the truck and with everybody getting back into their vehicles. No sooner were the vehicles on the bridge when trouble began.
"We watched as the car, the steering wheel appeared to have been locked, suddenly dived over the bridge. For a moment it was held up by a column but eventually went over as soon as the rope, which was tied to the truck, broke. My brother and I went in the water but there was nothing we could do as the doors of the car were jammed shut and the windows closed. I have seen many accidents at Flat Bridge but I cried tears when I realised there was nothing I could do to save them. This accident has stayed with me considering the way it happened. I learnt later that they were travelling from St. Ann, so my question is, why is it that they had to have broken down at Flat Bridge? Why also did the steering wheel become locked and the windows all closed shut? I tell you the place is haunted."
McLaughlin said he understands why some people would be inclined not to believe the Bridge is haunted, noting that "people have not seen the kind of things we see here so I don't really expect them to believe." He adds, "Flat Bridge will always be taking lives - no two ways about that. I just wish the Government would see it fit to have divers around the clock out here to try and save lives. We should all be given a monthly salary to do this job and be acknowledged for what we have been doing here for years. Without us many more lives would have been lost." He also notes that very rarely the people whose lives he had saved bother to keep in touch or to pay him a visit. "It's a thankless job," he reasoned. "Sometimes you risk your life with very little if any show of appreciation."
Rohan Cole, another diver and resident of the area agreed. "I have been here for 26 years and I have seen things that would blow people's mind," he said. "I have seen a car that was being pushed across after breaking down just suddenly plunged over into the river. I tell you, when the water wants to take somebody in it changes its colour like a green lizard. When it's like that look out, somebody will be going over." Cole said that it has become a routine thing to see "strange persons throwing all manner of things" into the Flat Bridge river, noting that "people use evil means to plan accidents for others." He said that divers risk their lives in trying to save people from drowning and that it was a situation the authorities needed to address. "We have no problem saving lives," he added. "As a matter of fact it is something we enjoy doing, don't get me wrong. The Government must understand that when we go in after somebody, who is struggling to survive, there is no guarantee that we will come back up. It's a risk that we take and I believe it is only fair that we are compensated. There is nobody else here except us and if something goes wrong then we are the first to go into the water which, by the way is very deep."
Asked what it is like for the diver when a victim is battling for life, Cole adds, "It certainly is not a pretty sight. Sometimes the water is murky and to the point where you can hardly see. When you go down, you are hoping the person(s) is not trapped in a seat belt and that there is some way to get out of the vehicle. If they cannot get out of the vehicle then there is no way for them to be saved. There is also the risk of someone that is drowning grabbing on to you and take you down with him/her. It's a scary situation that takes lots of guts it's not easy man -- I can tell you that."
The vendors say that the Government's installing of a two-way stop light a few years ago hasn't done much to quell the flow of accidents, thus adding credence to their belief that there is indeed something "abnormal" happening in the area. The Government, six years ago and under pressure from motorists following an accident that saw a record eight persons drowning in the Rio Cobre, installed two stoplights on both sides of the bridge. The rationale was to prevent two vehicles from passing each other, which the police feel, may have contributed to a number of accidents considering the narrowness of the bridge. In 1996, a mini-van on its way to a function at the National Arena went over the bridge after the driver had lost control of the vehicle. Six of the bodies were recovered while the other two were never found. The police are even today still seeking the driver, who escaped. But though the situation approaching Flat Bridge has gotten a lot more orderly, the accidents haven't really slowed down. Within the past five months four persons have lost their lives after vehicles they were travelling in plunged into the river.
Accidents
But certainly the most mysterious accident to have occurred at Flat Bridge, at least in recent memory, and perhaps consolidated the spooky reputation of the area, happened last month. Sixty-one-year-old Enid Morrison of Bensonton, St. Ann, drowned as a result of being pinned down by the seatbelt she was wearing and after the Lada Station Wagon in which she was travelling went over into the river. Her son who managed to survive the accident drove the car.
What was strange about this accident is that even today the police have not yet been able to accurately determine its cause. According to a number of eyewitnesses, the driver of the car was not speeding and did nothing to suggest he was responsible for what happened. In fact, they note, he had come to a stop at the red light and after proceeding on green, simply veered over the bridge.
"That one is a real mystery to me," conceded no less an authority than Minister of Transport and Work, Bobby Pickersgill. "I am really baffled by that one. There is nothing to indicate that the guy had done anything wrong and even if it is mechanical failure it makes you wonder what could have happened." The Minister, however, notes that the majority of accidents that have taken place on Flat Bridge are due to recklessness on the part of motorists, noting that a little more care could save lives.
"That's easy for the Minister to say," notes Yvonne Elleston, fruit vendor. "This place takes more lives than gunmen." Added her sister Elaine, "That last incident where the car went over as if somebody had pulled it over has changed my entire outlook on this place. Before then I wasn't sure but now I know the bridge is haunted."
Allan McLaughlin, a 71-year-old resident, said that he has never seen more than two years elapsed without an accident occurring at Flat Bridge. "There is a rock down there that we have named 'Moodie Rock' in memory of a family that drowned in the river in the 1960s," he said. "It is not just motorists that die at Flat Bridge, people have been known to drown while bathing in the river. I have been years since my younger days and I have seen quite a lot. I can remember at least 50 occasions where persons have lost their lives."
The police and other local authorities, however, remain unmoved by all the supernatural theories. They continue to view human error and reckless driving as the reasons for the accidents, noting that there has been nothing to suggest otherwise. Regardless, however, one thing is certain. Most drivers, since last month's accident, have taken a different approach when crossing the bridge. On approaching the area, many now unbuckle their seatbelts and wind their windows down. "Driving on this bridge will never be the same again, that's for sure," one driver notes.
