UPDATE: Taxi driver dies two days after accident
Sources from Peebles Hospital have confirmed that Mr Everette A. Pemberton passed away last evening March 9, 2013 despite medical staff's diligent efforts to resuscitate him.
Peebles Hospital's sources had declined to comment on the man's condition prior to his death on account of the fact that they would have been in breach of the hospital's patient confidentiality policy. However, Virgin Islands News Online was reliably informed that Mr Pemberton had a pre-existing chronic condition that has been suspected as the reason for the accident.
Sources said that since hospitalised, Mr Pemberton's condition had shown minor improvement but this was short lived.
See previous story posted March 7, 2013:
UPDATE: Bus plunges into water at Road Reef
- lone occupant taken to Peebles Hospital in unconscious condition - eyewitness
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI- A bus plunged into the water at Road Reef opposite the Fort Burt Restaurant around 7 P.M. on March 7, 2013.
According to reports, the driver has been identified as Horsepath resident Everette A. Pemberton. He was the lone occupant of the bus at the time. Mr Pemberton was reportedly pulled from the submerged vehicle in an unconscious state.
According to eyewitness Branson Reid who had been following the driver all the way from Sea Cows Bay on his motorcycle, the driver of the taxi had been driving slowly and was swaying along the roadway.
The eyewitness further related that when the vehicle arrived at Prospect Reef, in the vicinity of Dolphin Discovery, the driver had actually veered off the roadway.
“He was just coasting; he wasn’t pushing on gas or anything. When we came around the corner at Prospect Reef he even went on the wrong side of the road and then drove on the grass at the roundabout to get back on the right side of the road.”
Persons driving behind the taxi reportedly followed cautiously.
When the vehicle reached the area before The Pub, the driver took a right turn into the water at a slow pace. Mr Reid said he was still behind the vehicle on his motorcycle, some six vehicles behind, and noticed the vehicle taking a right turn towards the direction of the water.
He subsequently shouted for help after the bus went into the water and was submerging and assistance came from the direction of the Fort Burt Hotel. Mr Reid and the other person, who he identified as “Eddie”, went into the water and pulled the driver out of the vehicle.
“We thought he was going to stop and sleep it off but he wasn’t stopping. I was just going around this point here and I see him not stopping so I turned around my bike and noticed him going downhill into the water so I jumped off my bike and start yelling help, help and tried to get some of the traffic to stop and get into the water and help me but nobody stopped so I continued yelling for help and someone from Fort Burt came down and got into the water with me,” the public spirited citizen related to Virgin Islands News Online.
According to the eyewitness, the entire rescue ordeal took approximately three to four minutes.
“Me and Eddie went into the water and I opened the bus door under water, came up for breath and then told Eddie that I was going back to grab for something. I grabbed his [driver’s] shirt and pulled and brought him up.”
Mr Reid also recalled that a crowd had gathered at this time and there were many hands that were waiting to pull the unconscious driver from the water once the men had take him close to land. He also recalled that the man (Eddie) who assisted with the rescue efforts, as well as other persons, performed CPR on the man but he did not appear to be responding.
Pemberton was subsequently taken to hospital by ambulance.
A heavy duty vehicle was used to salvage the bus, which was completely submerged.
46 Responses to “UPDATE: Taxi driver dies two days after accident”
there are still some wonderful persons in this world.
Well done Branson!!
PS, was the dog alright?
My condolences Mrs. Ward
serious condition who aint done dead nearly dead and close to dead from what they giving them to eat bam bam
it's so sad we lost him. Anyways God is in control
and he knows best.... my only hope is that his heart
was right with God!!
my condolence to the family.