Ridge Pen residents claim leaky pipes were ignored until fatal accident in St Bess | Lead stories

The long-standing problem of a leaking pipe would not have been solved had it not been for the death of a man believed to have drowned in a water-filled pothole, according to residents of Ridge Pen, St Elizabeth.

Venroy “Bigga” Blackwood was riding his bike around 10pm on October 4th when he fell into a large pothole that was full of water.

His body was found face down. A photo circulating on social media shows the 58-year-old cement paver, who works in Parottee, with a bag on his back and his bike close to his body.

According to residents, Blackwood was drunk. It is further believed that he drowned in the water-filled pothole.

In an interview with The Gleaner Last Thursday, a family member from Blackwood, who did not wish to be named, said there were about three large potholes along the roadway, two of which were aggravated and filled with water due to a National Water Commission (NWC) pipe leak.

The residents informed The Gleaner that the NWC came last Monday to repair the leaking pipes.

“If he was never dead, Yasso, they wouldn’t be fixing it,” the family member said, adding, “If he had never come into contact with crap in the water, he might still be alive today.”

Other residents have also expressed similar views.

The family member stated that the pipe had been leaking for about a year.

“The National Water (Commission) comes by you three, four times every day and they don’t fix it,” she continued, noting that they had several opportunities to fix the pipes in the last few months before the incident.

Residents recalled another incident that occurred about two years earlier, involving a man who was said to be unfamiliar with the street. According to locals, while he was riding the motorcycle, he hit the pothole, lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown into a ditch, breaking his neck. Nothing came of the incident, they claimed, because the media did not report it.

“The whole street is going bad,” one resident shouted.

When contacted for comment, Delano Williams, acting corporate public relations manager at the NWC, said The Gleaner that the utility was saddened to learn of the Blackwood incident and extended its condolences to his family and friends.

“While we wait for official investigations to begin, the NWC will also seek to conduct its own inspections,” Williams said. “As this investigation is ongoing, we are unable to provide any further comment on this matter at this time.”

Meanwhile, contrary to police reports, Derrick Sangster, Jamaica Labor Party councilor for the Mountainside division, spoke The Gleaner After the monthly meeting of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation (StEMC) last Thursday, it claimed that the Blackwood incident had actually occurred in Ewers Lane, Williamsfield and not Ridge Pen.

He said the road, which is under the management of the municipality, had not yet been repaired but would be addressed “in due course”.

He continued that the last he had heard of the matter was that police were awaiting a post-mortem to determine the cause of Blackwood’s death.

“I really don’t know anything beyond that,” Sangster said, adding that he has been in contact with the family.

However, the family member who was spoken to The Gleaner denied this and claimed neither Floyd Green, MP for South West St Elizabeth, nor Sangster had visited the area or made contact with them.

“It is unfortunate that it happened and we are saddened that he died under these circumstances,” Sangster said, explaining that he believed residents had “calmed down.”

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