By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A CHEF who often complained about the dangerous condition of the Grand Bahama Highway was one of two men killed in a head-on collision on the same road over the weekend.

That stretch of road has no streetlights, and it was still dark despite the early sunrise.

Christopher Smith, a chef at The Garden of the Groves, and Mozen Selemfort, a boat captain at Statoil in East End, were each on their way to work when the crash occurred between 6am and 6.30am. Mr Smith’s sister, Roseleen Smith, who was driving the vehicle with Mr Smith as a passenger, was seriously injured and remains in hospital.

Staff at The Garden of the Groves were devastated by the news of Mr Smith’s death.

Nathalie Koll, his supervisor, said employees are struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. She said he was expected to arrive at work at 7am and also worked at Taino by the Sea Restaurant.

“Our morale is very low, but we’re trying to move on the way he would have wanted us to,” she said.

She said Mr Smith frequently expressed concern about the state of the highway.

“He constantly complained about how bad and scary the drive was,” she said. “Just last week, he mentioned they had to pull over to the side of the road. It was definitely a concern.”

She described him as an outstanding employee. “He was such a compassionate and great person,” she said. “He went above and beyond in everything that he did, whether it was his job, trying to build a relationship with staff, or greeting the customers. He had a heart of gold, and he was very giving person.”

Donald Wilson, a relative of Mr Smith, described his cousin as a good person. “I am in shock right now,” he said at the scene.

Smith, a resident of Freetown, East End, would catch a ride with his sister Roseleen, a security officer at the High Rock Clinic, every morning to work in Freeport.

Police said the collision happened when a white Honda driven by Mr Selemfort, travelling east, veered into the westbound lane and struck Ms Smith’s grey Chrysler head-on.

“When officers arrived on the scene, they met a male driver lifeless in the white Honda and another male passenger lifeless in the grey Chrysler,” Superintendent Christopher Farquharson, officer-in-charge of the Traffic Division in Grand Bahama, said. “The female driver of the Chrysler received serious injuries and was transported to hospital, where she is now listed in stable condition.”

Supt Farquharson said both vehicles sustained extensive front-end damage and that speed was a contributing factor. “The main reason the fatalities occurred was because the white Honda veered to the right side of the road, causing the collision,” he said.

Both men died at the scene, bringing the country’s traffic fatality count to 53 for the year.

Grand Bahama Highway, just east of the Lucayan National Park, was shut down for more than two hours as police conducted their investigations. Two hearses were dispatched to the scene, and the bodies were removed around 9am.