Vehicular Accident In Dominica Leaves Five Young Men Dead; Prime Minister Issues Statement

Last updated: 9:16 a.m., Monday, August 7.

DOMINICA — The lives of five young men were cut short early Sunday morning during the 7:00 a.m. hour, following a tragic accident in Ambas, Vielle Case, Dominica, one of three Villages in the St. Andrews Parish, whose parliamentary representative is Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

The men had left a feast of one of the villages, Thibaud, and were headed back to their own village, Penville, when the accident occurred. Their vehicle crashed into a railing meant to prevent vehicles from tumbling over a cliff. But the railing gave way and the vehicle fell hundreds of feet into the ocean.

The Dominica Coast Guard, police and fire rescue teams, along with locals, aided in the search and recovery effort, according to information provided to The Consortium by someone on the scene.

Broken railing that gave away during accident.

Mr. Skerrit issued a statement on his Facebook page, revealing that he had only recently met with one of the deceased. He also expressed sorrow, stating that the accident hit close to home.

“It is with profound sadness that I inform all of a tragic accident which took the lives of five very promising young men from my constituency,” Mr. Skerrit said. “Just last evening I spent a considerable amount of time with one of the young men as we met with the young people from my constituency. In fact he gave the welcome address at the forum. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the deceased. We all share in the pain and suffering. For me personally it can’t get closer. God shall give us the strength and courage to deal with this tragedy.”

The Thibaud Village Council announced on its Facebook page the cancellation of Sunday night’s events. The organization also issued a statement on the incident, as the men had just left the feast, called “Fete Thibaud”, when the accident occurred. “On behalf of the Thibaud Village, we would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of those who lost their loved ones in the tragedy. Hold strong to the entire community of Penville. You all are in our prayers.”

Ocean where vehicle fell.

The Consortium has been able to identify all five victims: Brendon Ophar, Chris Marcellin, Tevari Sango, Cecil Jean and Clement Leblanc. Most of them were said to be in their twenties, while at least one victim was said to be in his thirties. Relative to what caused the accident, there were multiple scenarios being offered by locals, including that the men had fallen asleep, but none have been confirmed.