Monday, December 7, 2009
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Athlete dies in car crash By SHELDON LONGLEY ~ NG Sports Editor ~ slongley@nasguard.com: The country's athletic family suffered a major blow this past weekend when one of its young stars suddenly lost his life in a car accident.
Christopher Alexander Bethel, arguably the country's second best hurdler behind national record holder Shamar Sands, passed away after being involved in a tragic car accident early Saturday morning.
According to the police report, the driver of a red 2000 Honda Accord L/P 210057 informed the officer at the scene that while traveling east on West Bay Street in the vicinity of SuperClub Breezes Hotel in Cable Beach along with a friend, a grey Taxi Cab L/P 10 40 reversed from the hotel ramp onto the main thoroughfare of West Bay Street. The driver then informed the officer that he evaded the taxi and lost control of the vehicle, colliding into a tree. The accident occurred around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
The Nassau Guardian has since learnt that Bethel was the passenger in the vehicle, and another athlete, sprinter Adrian Griffith was the driver.
Griffith, who was contacted yesterday, declined comment but it was understood that he received minor injuries to the hand and knee.
Bethel, also known as 'Nipples', celebrated his 25th birthday on the 13th of November. He had a personal best time of 14.04 seconds in his specialty, the 110-meter hurdles, which was done at the 2006 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Under-23 Track and Field Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Bethel also represented The Bahamas at the 2003 CARIFTA Track and Field Championships in Trinidad and Tobago, the 2005 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Athletic Championships in New Providence, the 2006 CAC Games in Cartegena, Colombia, the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the 2008 CAC Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia. Bethel attended McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois. He graduated in 2008, but won several conference titles while at McKendree and was a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championships finalist in the 110m high hurdles. He was a multiple All-American. Here in New Providence, he attended St. Augustine's College (SAC), where he graduated in 2003, one year after Sands, who holds the national record of 13.38 seconds. While in high school, Bethel was a standout member of the SAC Big Red Machine track and field squad, and also the ace pitcher in softball, helping lead SAC to the 2002 Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) senior boys softball title. He was the winning pitcher in the championship clinching game that year. His life came to a sad and sudden end on Saturday though. According to the police report, Bethel, who hails from College Gardens off Prince Charles here in New Providence, was pronounced dead at the scene. He along with Griffith both resided in the United States, and had recently come to New Providence to attend a friend's wedding. The police report also stated that the grey taxi cab did not remain at the scene of the accident. Bethel was employed at Arawak Homes/Sunshine Insurance and was preparing for the 2010 track and field season. In a press statement released yesterday, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) through its president Mike Sands and Public Relations Officer Alpheus 'Hawk' Finlayson, extended profound condolences to the family of Bethel on behalf of the association and the wider track and field community. "It's a very sad day for track and field here in The Bahamas, and for the track and field fraternity, to lose unexpectedly such a young, promising athlete," said BAAA President Mike Sands. "He will be greatly missed by all of those who came in contact with him. Chris was always the life of the party and had such a positive outlook about life and what he wanted to accomplish. He was very optimistic that this was the year for him to break through and make a big statement in track and field. On behalf of my family and the track and field community I just want to extend my sympathy to his family and friends," added Sands.
Monday, December 7, 2009 |
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