By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

A THREE-CAR collision on the island of Abaco left one woman dead while three others were airlifted to New Providence for treatment.

The accident has prompted Island Administrator Terece Bootle-Laing to urge residents to use the “abundance of caution and slow down”.

The accident took place on Friday at S C Bootle Highway.

Officers were called to the scene after 9pm. According to reports, a Honda Fit and a Honda Accord were involved in a head-on crash which resulted in a collision with a third vehicle – a second Honda Accord.

A woman who was a passenger in the Honda Fit is believed to have died at the scene – she was later pronounced dead by a doctor at the Marsh Harbour Clinic. The man who was driving that vehicle sustained serious injuries and was also taken to the clinic and later airlifted to New Providence.

The two people in the first Honda Accord also suffered serious injuries. They were airlifted to New Providence for further medical attention.

In the second Honda Accord, the front seat passenger received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the Marsh Harbour Clinic. The driver remained on the scene and is assisting police.

The deceased victim’s identity was not released up to press time.

Ms Bootle-Laing said: “In a normal circumstance Abaco usually has traffic fatalities because it’s a long road and persons have to commute from distant settlements into Marsh Harbour, but the frequency of these accidents is reason for concern and we are asking motorists to please be careful.

“We know that lighting on the street is limited following Hurricane Dorian, not to mention the road itself is not the best quality because of the damage caused by Hurricane Dorian. And, so you have to exercise an abundance of caution and slow down while commuting on the streets of Abaco because of all the issues mentioned.”

The island administrator also said motorists have been speeding in order to get home before the nightly curfew of 10pm.

“We are seeing that persons are even trying to beat the curfew time and rushing against the clock. So, we are asking them to slow down, their lives are more important. We can resolve road issues and we can have better lighting on the streets eventually, because the poles are going up, but we can’t replace their lives.”

Officers from Grand Bahama’s Traffic Division are en route to Abaco to assist in the investigation of this accident.

In December, a man died after a car accident in the area of the SC Bootle Highway just east of the little Abaco Bridge.

The accident involved a 2000 T-Rex Queen Truck driven by a male driver.

“The driver apparently lost control of the vehicle that overturned and was ejected from the vehicle,” police reported at the time.

“He was later pronounced dead by doctors at the Marsh Harbour Clinic.”

Earlier this month, Grand Bahama police launched a traffic initiative on that island as well as Abaco and Bimini to hopefully reduce accidents and road deaths.