Tragedy struck once more along the infamous stretch of North Coast Highway between St Ann's Bay and Runaway Bay in St Ann Monday night. Again, an animal was at the centre of the mishap.

A two-bus collision along the Llandovery main road left four persons dead and 28 others seriously injured and in hospital. Four were taken to the Kingston Public Hospital, one to Cornwall Regional Hospital and the others to St Ann's Bay.

The accident occurred around 9:30 p.m. after a Toyota Hiace passenger bus travelling from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios slammed head-on into another that plies the Brown's Town to Ocho Rios route, and was heading in the opposite direction, after it swerved to avoid a cow crossing the road.

Dead identified

Dead are 34-year-old Gregory Davis of Eltham district, a driver of one of the two buses; 65-year-old Samela Newell of Runaway Bay, both in St Ann; and two unidentified individuals, a man and a woman said to be about 19.

"Three persons died last night and one this morning (Tuesday), 28 are in hospital. They are all serious, some are in the operating theatre, some are waiting to go in," investigating officer Corporal Patrick Josephs told The Gleaner yesterday afternoon.

Josephs said information was still unclear as persons had not been readily coming forward with information.

However, reports are that a line of traffic was proceeding eastward towards Ocho Rios when, on reaching the vicinity of Chukka Cove, the lead vehicle stopped to allow a cow to cross the road. A green Hiace bus travelling in the same direction overtook the line of traffic and the driver was surprised by the animal as it plodded across the road. The driver of the bus swerved to the right and directly into the path of a silver Hiace heading towards Runaway Bay.

Both vehicles were loaded with passengers and the wreckage created chaos along the highway. Traffic was piled up for several hundred metres as emergency personnel and passers-by worked to remove victims from the vehicles.