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Cross Catholic Blog
- June 19, 2009
HHF doing what it can to help, comfort survivors of deadly accident
More news from our ministry partner, Haitian Health Foundation, on the deadly accident that killed three — a nurse, the driver, and a 5-year-old — and left several injured yesterday (see our post below).
We just spoke with Dr. Jeremiah J. Lowney, Jr., founder and president of HHF, who said they were trying to pick up the pieces as the staff and community deal with this great loss.
“We mourn the deaths of these devoted employees and the youngster, and we ask for your prayers for their families,” Dr. Lowney said. “Every effort is being made by Sister Maryann Berard [HHF’s administrator in Haiti] and our staff in Jérémie to bring comfort and help to the survivors.”
He said it was a miracle that there wasn’t a greater loss of life after such a dramatic accident.
The Haitian Health Foundation provides health care to impoverished people living in Jeremie and the rural mountain villages of the Grand Anse Region of Southwest Haiti.
The Land Cruiser that was carrying 14 staff members back from a rural health clinic when the driver, Jean Richard, suddenly swerved to the left. The vehicle was new, so they don’t think it was a mechanical problem that caused the accident. Passengers believe Richard, who was a very safe driver and had worked for HHF several years, had a sudden physical attack because he didn’t respond to their warning yells.
A passenger sitting in the front seat tried to grab the wheel but couldn’t steer the truck back on course. The Land Cruiser fell down a 50-feet embankment and into the deepest part of the Grand Anse River just outside of town.
Alexis Michel, an HHF health agent who was in the truck, escaped through a broken window and began pulling the other passengers out. “He was truly heroic, and his actions should be commended,” Dr. Lowney said.
Please join us in prayer for HHF and its staff, the families of those who died, and the community!
