By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A mid-morning traffic accident in western New Providence yesterday has left a police officer dead.

Police said that around 9am the officer was travelling west on John F Kennedy Drive on his police motorcycle when he lost control and crashed into a utility pole.

He died of his injuries at the scene shortly afterwards, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean.

Police have not confirmed his identity, but The Tribune understands he is Rio Demeritte, an officer attached to the Police Traffic Department.

Mr Demeritte was reportedly a part of a police convoy that was escorting the body of former House of Assembly speaker for the Turks and Caicos Islands, Rosita Beatrice Missick-Butterfield, for a handover ceremony at Odyssey Airport to the speaker of the House of Assembly for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Ms Missick-Butterfield died at Doctor’s Hospital on January 10.

The police officer’s death came two days after one man was killed and three others left in hospital following a car accident at the Coral Harbour roundabout. That vehicle hit a palm tree and later caught on fire, police said.

Superintendant Craig Stubbs, head of the Traffic Division, said the accident happened shortly after 11pm Saturday.

“From what we gathered thus far, members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force were in the area, they were commuting along Coral Harbour travelling south, when the burgundy coloured Nissan Sentra passed them at a high rate of speed,” Supt Stubbs said on Sunday.

“They observed that vehicle miss its turn into the roundabout and slam into a palm tree and burst into flames. They were able to render assistance by smashing the driver’s glass. They pulled four persons from that vehicle, three males and a female. The front seat adult male passenger died after he was assisted by EMS personnel on the scene. The other three passengers, the rear seat male and female are serious, but stable in hospital, the driver listed as critical.”

According to officials, there were 47 traffic related deaths in 2014.