WESTERN BUREAU:
A POLICE officer lost his life in a motor vehicle accident on Saturday night when the patrol car in which he was driving crashed into a ditch.
The dead cop has been identified as 24-year-old Christopher Patterson, a constable attached to the Accident and Reconstruction Unit of the Area One Headquarters. Two other officers, who were passengers in the vehicle, have been admitted to hospital in serious condition.
The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) report that the accident occurred at about 8 p.m., when Constable Patterson and four of his colleagues were returning from an assignment. The patrol car was heading towards Montego Bay when on reaching a section of the Unity Hall main road, he failed to negotiate a corner and lost control of the vehicle. The car overturned into a ditch and Constable Patterson was thrown from the vehicle.
All five occupants were rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where Constable Patterson died while undergoing treatment. Woman Constable Sophia Harper and Constable Gary Mills were admitted in serious condition, while Constable Carey Lyn-Sue and Woman Constable Maureen Knott were treated and released.
Officers from the Montego Bay Traffic Department are investigating the accident.
