(Eleuthera, Bahamas) – Mr. Roben Etienne (25) was laid to rest at the public cemetery in Palmetto Point on Saturday, May 11th , 2013. He became the 7th road traffic fatality on the island and one of eight people to have died in a five month period as a result of traffic accidents. The accidents included 4 single vehicle accidents claiming five lives with one person still seriously injured. One life was claimed when a car collided with a parked truck and the other two lives were lost in two separate two-vehicle crashes.
Mr. Etienne, according to police reports, was the passenger in a Ford-150 pick-up truck that careened into a tree in Governor’s Harbour on April 27th, killing him immediately [Read more about the accident].
A wide cross-section of the community turned out to say goodbye to the young man, who was born in New Providence and grew up in Eleuthera.
He was remembered as a mason, a skilled carpenter, a diver and a very likeable person. An excerpt from his Obituary read, “Roben became a proud father and dedicated to being a family man and friend. He was a good worker and loved his family and friends.”
Witnesses reported seeing the vehicle he was in being driven at a high speed before slamming into the cedar tree.
A”Speed Kills” sign was erected at the spot in Governor’s Harbour where Mr. Etienne lost his life, as part of the on-going road safety campaign. Campaign organizers are encouraging road users to slow down, don’t drink and drive, buckle up for safety, and to “Say something, if you see something”.
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Front L-R: Miss Pinder a young Eleutheran painted the sign, Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Hope Strachan, MP for Central and South Eleuthera and Minister of State for Legal Affairs in the Office of the Attorney General, Damian Gomez and RBPF Eleuthera Superintendent, Ismella Davis. Back L-R: Marvin Pinder with Ministry of Works, Dr. John Mensah, Central Eleuthera District, and Superintendent of Education for Eleuthera, Helen Simmons-Johnson (partially obscured by sign).
Tragic accident scene where the life of Roben Etienne was taken.
