ROADTOWN Tortola, BVI, 12th April 2011 - The public has been expressing concern for action to be taken to curb illegal racing following the tragic death of Trey Erickson, 14, who was racing with friends along the Beef Island road when an accident occurred that subsequently ended his life.
Speaking last evening Monday April 11, 2011 on Virgin Islands Party’s (VIP) radio programme “Let’s Talk”, Deputy Premier Dancia Penn QC and member of the National Security Council, disclosed that the Council has been very concerned about the racing and has been giving it active consideration for a long time now with the most recent discussion held a week after Erickson’s death.
She assured the public that while they may not have heard anything official from the Government on the subject, it is one that the Government is actively discussing and working on.
“…I just want to say that although the public may not have heard anything official yet from the Government, it is a matter we are very concerned about, it is a matter that is under very active discussion. And as recently as the week after Trey’s death, we did have a very long dedicated session to addressing that issue,” the Deputy Premier announced on the programme.
“The Premier and I, together with the Governor, Attorney General, are members of the National Security Council. I think it would not be breaching any oath to say Premier that we in the National Security Council has been very concerned about the matter of the racing that takes place at Beef Island and I believe at other places and it is a matter we have been giving very active consideration over some long time now,” the Deputy Premier said.
Erickson, 14, a student of the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) student, was racing with friends along the stretch of road at Beef Island on Saturday evening, March 26, 2011 when the accident occurred.
His left leg was severed from the hip in the crash between two motorcycles. He subsequently passed away in a Puerto Rican hospital on Monday, March 28, 2011.
Meanwhile, VINO had spoken with Traffic Chief Ariel Cameron who said that soon he will have “dialogue with the Ministry for Communications and Works to get some speed bumps placed at strategic locations along that road.”
“We are going to submit our proposal in writing very soon,” Mr. Cameron had told VINO. “The speed bumps will act as a deterrent for the racing.”
More recently, Archibald Christian, an At Large candidate under the National Democratic Party (NDP), stated at his official launch on Thursday March 31, 2011 called for a national debate on the issue.
A promising young man is dead, and I ask the question, how many more of our young men must we lose to this activity which is getting out of control without regulation? Without enforcement? The time has come, ladies and gentlemen, for us to have a national discussion, a national debate on this issue. I pledge to be a part of this process as soon as young Trey is laid to rest. I invite motor cycle owners, renters, parents, police and other interested persons to support this debate at a date, place and time to be announced,” Mr. Christian had stated.
Article taken from Virgin Islands News Online
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