Victims Of Bus Crash In Jamaica Reject Settlement From State Owned Bus Company

KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – The victims of an accident in 2010 who were recently awarded a settlement against the state run Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), have rejected a four part payment proposal from the bus company, saying they want the money by the end of this year.

The crash occurred on October 16, 2010 when the JUTC bus, which was chartered for a church trip, flipped over and fell to the bottom of a ravine in the northern parish of St. Ann.

The accident left several injured and also resulted in the death of a teenage girl.

Earlier this month the court ordered the JUTC to pay J$106 million in damages to those who were injured and a statutory demand was served on JUTC for the money to be paid within 21 days.

In response to the demand, Reverend Garnett Roper, chairman of JUTC, said the company would need more than 21 days to make the payments.

However the crash victims ruled out that suggestion during a meeting with their attorney Sean Kinghorn, on Saturday.

“I have been instructed to make a counter proposal to the JUTC as they are not interested and they will not be signing a settlement agreement because there is already a settlement and they are requesting that the JUTC pays at least one half of the debt outstanding by the 7^th of December and the balance should be paid by the end of December.”

Kinghorn added that his clients also instructed him to defer another 29 petitions which would be used in winding up the JUTC and selling the assets to make payments to the victims, in lieu of a response from the state owned bus company.

He also disclosed that his clients rejected a proposal from the JUTC that they sign a confidentiality agreement before receiving any payments.