Senior Police Sergeant Hospitalised After Mack Truck Runs Over His Leg on Valley Road

A senior police officer is recovering at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre after being struck by a truck on Valley Road on Friday evening, in a collision the driver attributes to brake failure.

Senior Sergeant Jeffery Benjamin of Golden Grove was walking on the western side of Valley Road, near a tyre shop, at approximately 6:00 p.m. when the incident occurred. According to Police Superintendent Frankie Thomas, a blue Mack truck driven by a 19-year-old man of Desouza Road was travelling south to north along Valley Road at the time.

Thomas said the driver claims the truck's brakes failed, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. The truck struck Benjamin, running over his right leg, before coming to a stop on the western side of the road.

Benjamin complained of pain to his body and right leg and was transported by ambulance to the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, where he remains under treatment.

The truck driver also complained of pain to his body and the right side of his chest and received medical treatment.

Investigations into the incident are continuing, Thomas said.

The collision is the latest in a series of road traffic incidents involving pedestrians and vulnerable road users in Antigua and Barbuda in recent weeks — a period that has also seen national cyclist Tahjé Browne struck by a hit-and-run driver during a training ride and an Emergency Medical Technician injured after being hit by a motorist while boarding her company vehicle.