The scene of one of the accidents.
MADAME ESTATE--A driver who wrecked his vehicle and caused damage to another after pressing the accelerator instead of the brakes is among several traffic incidents that have had the St. Maarten Police Force’s Traffic Department busy over the last few days.
The police said they are investigating several traffic accidents that occurred at various locations across the country.
One of the accident scenes.
One such incident took place in the Madame Estate shopping centre area around 12:00pm Tuesday, October 25. The police said in a press statement that it appeared as though the driver of a cream-coloured SUV was driving on Van Gogh Street in Madame Estate when the driver applied the accelerator pedal instead of the brakes, resulting in his vehicle crashing into a concrete curb and then rear-ending a white car parked along the road. This investigation into this accident is still ongoing.
Another traffic accident occurred in the Sucker Garden area around 11:00am Monday, October 24. Preliminary investigation conducted by the Traffic Department found that it appeared as though a scooter had collided with the back of a grey passenger car while ascending a hill in Sucker Garden. “When the driver stopped on the hillside to check what had happened to his car, he noticed that the handbrake on his car was not set properly, and the vehicle started rolling backwards,” it was stated in a press release.
“When the driver tried to get back into the vehicle to stop it, he was unable to do so and ended up falling and injuring himself. It continued rolling backwards and later crashed into the bushes along the road. Later on, the driver was administered first aid by the ambulance personnel and was taken to SMMC [St. Maarten Medical Center – Ed.] for further medical treatment. The investigation is ongoing.”
