“They Said We Were Okay, But I Haven’t Moved Since”
By Trevor Lindsay
Last week, a serious road traffic collision involving a government trash truck left three men hospitalized — though early reports from media outlets and government sources initially claimed there were “no serious injuries.”
Today, one of those men, Neville Tucker, is speaking out from his hospital bed, describing both the terrifying moments before impact and his frustration over how the incident has been publicly portrayed.
Tucker, a veteran waste management worker with nearly 37 years of service, was a passenger on the left side of the garbage truck when the crash occurred last Monday November 3rd. The truck reportedly crashed through a wall and into a garden near the Paget Pharmacy area after coming off the South Road Paget Stoplights junction.
“When we came off the hill from Paget stoplights, a light in the truck on the panel came on saying we were too close to the left,” Tucker recalled. “I was getting ready to tell the driver, but before I could say anything, the truck was already going through the wall and into the garden. That was it.”
He remembers the chaos vividly — the truck violently jolting, metal twisting, glass shattering. He found himself trapped under part of the truck’s interior.
“I was on my back, and my leg got caught under a metal piece,” he explained. “The Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service men had to break the glass and pull me out. They pulled one leg, then the other, and finally got me free, I can’t remember how long it took for the men to get me out but it felt like forever.
Tucker was rushed to the hospital, where doctors later confirmed he had sustained a serious back injury. He has been unable to walk since the collision and is scheduled for back surgery on this week Friday November 14.
“The doctor told me I’ll be here at least six weeks before I can even think about leaving,” he said. “After that, it’ll be another six weeks of recovery. My fingers are locked — I can’t move them properly — and the pain runs from my back through my legs and feet.”
Despite these severe injuries, Tucker was disturbed to hear official statements suggesting that all three workers had escaped with minor injuries, this back injury is not a minor injury.
“That really bothered me,” Tucker said. “They said all three of us were okay, but I haven’t even moved off my back since that day. I don’t think that’s okay.”
When asked about the driver’s condition, Tucker noted that he wasn’t certain of the full extent of the other men’s injuries but believed that one of his coworkers may also have suffered a back issue.
As for what caused the crash, Tucker believes the driver may have ignored warning signals from the vehicle’s onboard system.
“If the lights are blinking, it’s trying to tell you something,” he explained. “It was showing we were too close to the left, and still, the truck kept going.”
Tucker said he “feared for his life” as the vehicle veered out of control.
“I did see a light flash before me,” he admitted softly. “I just prayed — prayed that nothing serious would happen to me or anyone else.”
Now facing a long and painful recovery, Tucker expressed disappointment that no government official or minister has visited him in the hospital since the accident.
“No one from government has come to see me,” he said. “After all these years of working for the department, I would have thought someone would.”
Still, Tucker remains hopeful that his surgery will go well and that he’ll eventually return to his family and some semblance of normal life.
“I just want them to fix me so I can relax,” he said. “That’s all I’m praying for now.”
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