Beacon of the day | Young father risks life trying to save motorist in Bog Walk

The third unsung hero, who risked his life trying to save a motorist in the Bog Walk Gorge on September 1, has come forward.

He is Romario Wright, a 22-year-old father from Bog Walk in St. Catherine. He is also a past student of Enid Bennett High School in Bog Walk.

Romario did the heroics along with two bus conductors – Dane Gray and Delgado ‘Dainty’ Smith, both from Linstead in St. Catherine.

The three men tried to rescue and to later recover the motorist, whose car reportedly crashed with another vehicle and ended up in the waters of the Rio Cobre in the Bog Walk Gorge.

The crash victim, who turned out to be 66-year-old Eunice Williams from Linstead, has died.

In a previous story, The Beacon, then unaware of a third civilian playing a huge role, highlighted the selfless contribution made by the two bus conductors.

Romario, who is only now coming forward, said he did not intend to make his involvement public.

He is now doing so for the record to reflect the full truth – that he too assisted significantly with the initial rescue and recovery efforts.

“Mi never duh this fi hype or fame; mi did just a try help out a situation,” he declared.

Romario explained that, on the morning of the incident, he was at his workplace – a fish shop and car wash near the accident scene.

He saw a massive traffic pile-up and went to make inquiries – only to observe a car in the water and a relatively large crowd of onlookers.

“Everybody did jus have dem phone and a video,” Romario recalled.

He stated that he, and the bus conductor who turned out to be Dane Gray, partly removed their clothes and entered the water.

Romario said he and Gray noticed that the car windows were wound up. They tied a piece of rope to the vehicle, but the rope broke – forcing them to attach it a second time.

After the rope was re-attached, the car was pulled closer to the embankment, Romario said, adding that he broke the car window and saw the crash victim inside.

That’s when the second bus conductor, ‘Dainty’, came into the water and pulled the car door from inside.

Romario noted that the bus conductors, as well as the late motorist, were total strangers to him.

He also opined that the motorist seemingly died before he reached the scene.

“She a nuh fish,” Romario said, adding that the woman could not have stayed under water alive for as long as she did without a breathing apparatus.

“If mi did reach the scene a bit earlier, mi could try save her,” the young father posited. “The [deceased] woman could be anybody family member. Everybody jus a video; a dat Jamaica come tuh now.”

Romario also shares the bus conductors’ view that the firefighters did not do enough to help.

“Dem jus stan up and a give instruction,” he said, while stating that he does not think the fire personnel could have saved the motorist’s life.

Romario added that he, at one point, became confused because several onlookers – including fire personnel – were giving him different instructions when he tried to break the car window.

He also disclosed that, after the woman’s body was recovered from the water, he took the bus conductors to his workplace and allowed them to cleanse themselves – considering that they had gone into the murky Rio Cobre water.

Romario further told The Beacon that it was his first time performing such heroics.

He said he has no regret, and would do it all over again to save someone’s life.

ALSO READ: Bus conductors fight to rescue woman

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