Barbados Today

The sudden death of 50-year-old Jeffrey Dacosta Greenidge has taken both family members and his closest neighbours by surprise.

The father of two became Barbados’ fourth road fatality for the year on Monday after he was involved in a three-vehicle collision around 3:48 p.m. he sustained injuries to his head, right leg and left wrist and was transported to the state-run Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

When a Barbados TODAY team visited the 7th Avenue, Back Ivy, St Michael, home he shared with his mother Daphne Greenidge, the distraught elderly woman described her deceased son as a “good and hard working boy”.

She also recalled how her son, who was employed in the construction sector as a mason, never missed a day of work.

Jeffrey was riding along University Drive, St Michael around 3:48 p.m. when his bicycle collided head on with a car driven by Susan Fitts, of Fitts Village St James, and a van driven by Eric Allamby, of Black Bess, St Peter.

Still devastated by the horrible news, Jeffrey’s cousin Victorine Herbert is having difficulty coming to terms with his unexpected death.

“My head hurt me and I just cry,” she said in detailing her reaction to the tragic news.

Herbert was however more concerned about her ailing aunt who she said had not stopped crying since receiving the news of her son’s death.

“He never used to give any trouble . . . [and] he wasn’t disrespectful either,” Herbert revealed while standing outside Jeffrey’s childhood home.

Recalling how he could always be found travelling via his bicycle, Herbert said,“That bicycle was his horse and cart, according to the old people.”

Also shocked by his passing was neighbour Angela Brancker, who said she had last seen him alive on Monday morning before he left home for to work. Brancker recalled how he had taken time to wish her daughter a safe journey to work that morning, not knowing the tragedy that was lurking close by.

“He spoke to my daughter and before she went to work, he told her to go safe and he would see her later,” Brancker solemnly recalled.