I’ve spoken about celebrity death, and how we (the public) relate to it before. But every experience is always unique. By the time I actually got out of bed this morning, 21-year old Jizelle Salandy was dead.

Jizelle was a female boxer, and a rising sport star in Trinidad and Tobago who won most of her fights. People have criticised her management, especially promoter Buxo Potts, for selecting less than honourable matches for his pugilistic phenom. But the fact remains, she was a good fighter who had received several national and sporting awards for her achievement.

But no more, Jizelle died in an early morning accident on the Beethem Highway. Another victim of our notoriously violent roadways. Jizelle’s death comes after another one of our star athletes was in a serious accident at the start of this year. Fortunately the “Torpedo” and his companion survived. But both incident serve to remind us of the dangers on our roadways, and the cost to us as a people.

The two most famous road fatalities in recent history are D.J. Lalo and Onika Bostic. They’ve been accompanied by hundreds as a the years go by, and by the thousands who proceeded them. Including the man who wrote the original version of Firey; the tune Bunji used to become the 2008 Soca Monarch.

But famous or no, the experts say most accidents are preventable. Most are caused by human error.

I don’t profess to be the best driver. After a friend of mine lost her cousin in a horrible accident a few years ago on a Good Friday morning, I’ve since resolved to try and take greater care when driving. I’ve also started saying a prayer every time I get behind the wheel, because I want to remind myself of that promise, and I need God’s help to keep it.

Please be careful on the roads.