Residents and business owners are calling on the Ministry of Works to address the increased number of accidents they say are caused on the Mucurapo Link Road, St James. Director of Silver Star Service Centre, a business located near the road, said yesterday the number of accidents in the area had increased drastically since it opened last year. He added: "We wrote a letter to the traffic branch asking them to close off that road. "It seems like almost every week there is an accident there and nobody is addressing the situation." Samuel's business proximity to the road allows him complete visibility of most of the accidents that take place. He said there had been an accident last week Friday as well as yesterday morning.
At about 6.40 am yesterday, Nickesha Benjamin was driving east along Mucurapo Road, near the service centre, when on reaching the intersection on Mucurapo Link Road her vehicle collided with another car driven by orthopaedic surgeon David Toby. Toby was proceeding south along the link road when the collision took place. According to police, Toby was in a critical condition at Port-of-Spain General Hospital up to late yesterday. Benjamin suffered slight injuries and Nicole Toby, who was in Dr Toby's car, was treated at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital before being transferred to St Clair Medical Centre. St James resident, Gary Aboud, described the situation as deficiencies in the Engineering Department at the Ministry of Works. "It isn't safe for either drivers, the St James business community or residents," said Aboud. He said because of the location of the road, drivers were unable to see oncoming traffic.