Fatal crash following police chase

(CMR) The RCIPS has now confirmed numerous complaints to CMR that a fatal accident early Saturday morning occurred following a police chase.

The RCIPS said officers were conducting a vehicle checkpoint at about 12:15 am on the northbound lane of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway in the vicinity of the Yacht Club Roundabout, when a green Honda Accord traveled through the checkpoint, ignoring officers’ instructions to stop.

The police said the officers activated blue lights and sirens and followed the vehicle safely. However, they lost sight of the vehicle, and the decision was made to return to the checkpoint.

About five minutes later, the officers were alerted to a single-vehicle collision on West Bay Road, in the vicinity of Willie Farrington Drive, involving a green Honda Accord that had collided with a house.

Police and emergency services attended the location, and three occupants of the vehicle were transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital.

Shayne Ewart, one of the vehicle's occupants, was subsequently pronounced dead.

The other two occupants remain in the hospital being treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

No one in the house was injured.

An alleged eyewitness told CMR that they saw the chase and that when the Honda crashed, the police cruiser involved in the chase took off in the opposite direction.

The Office of the Ombudsman is overseeing matters in the investigation, which potentially involve the serious harm of a member of the public who had been in recent contact with the RCIPS.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or who may have any information is asked to contact the Traffic & Roads Policing Unit at 649-6254.

Anonymous tips can be provided directly to the RCIPS via their Confidential Tip Line at 949-7777 or via their website.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously via the Miami-based call center of Crime Stoppers at 800-8477(TIPS) or online.