were said to be members
A motorcade rally, comprising one hundred or more cars, and over 40 motorcycles, was a unique and impressive manner in which hundreds of persons in Anguilla expressed heartfelt sorrow over the tragic deaths of two Anguillian young men, and their support for the grief-stricken families.
The event, on Sunday afternoon, September 22, was organised by the Kool Motorcycle Riders and the Anguilla Drag Racing Association in honour of EsterlinSilwood Connor, 26, of Blowing Point, and Marlon Harrigan, 19, of Pond Ground, East End. Silwood, son of Mrs Rhonda Connor, Chief Education Officer and Esterlin Connor,and Marlon, son of Murray Harrigan and Marlene Rogers, died shortly after midnight on Thursday, September 19, when the vehicle, in which they were travelling from east to west, swerved off the Long Path Road, struck the Best Buy building and overturned. They were taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
Silwood, a teacher at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, and Marlon, an autoworker at the Department of Infrastructure and at the family’s business as well, were due to leave Anguilla on Friday, September 20, to participate in the two-day Independence Drag Race Competition in Nevis.
Their tragic deaths stunned Anguillians at home and abroad, leading to an outpouring of regret, condolences and tributes to their families; pastoral counselling of teachers and students at the Comprehensive School; and even the temporary closure of some schools.Members of the Anguilla House Assembly, meeting on the sombre Friday, expressed sympathy and words of comfort – and visited the bereaved families. Mr Mark Brantley, Deputy Premier of Nevis, issued a statement expressing regret over the tragedy. The text of that statement and accompanying photographs appear elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian.
The strongest signal of mourning over the loss of the two young men, and support for their families, was the motorcade rally. The Tyre Shop area at George Hill was the gathering point for the event where directions pertaining to the route, and conduct, of the motorcade were given by Mr Evan Gumbs, the Elected Representative for Valley South, (a motorcycle enthusiast), along with Avery Thomas, a local pilot, one of the organisers of the motorcade.
Travelling east, the motorcade, which got off to a late start, stopped at the accident site where one minute silence was observed. The next stop was at the resident of Marlon’s parents where his father, Murray Harrigan, spoke just outsideTraff’s Auto Garage owned by him and his son.He was grateful to all for visiting him and his family. He spoke about his and Marlon’s love and passion for auto mechanics but indicated that he did not particularly like drag racing.
He cautioned young people, who have interest in, and love for such an activity, that while it might bring excitement and joy to some persons, it had the potential of bringing tragedy to others. He was of the view that, apart from being interested in drag racing, as well as the technological knowledge they were able to acquire, there was a need for young people to become involved in various other activities and programmes of skill-building, educational benefit and even anger management. He stressed that before persons become involved in dragracing they should consider what they were going into as there were safety concerns and dangers to keep in mind.
Marlon Harrigan
He noted that while they were spending their own money to purchase or prepare cars for drag racing that “it doesn’t build a nation”. He went on: “I want them to start thinking differently about life because when these [tragedies] occur, they leave people like me and others crying, and that is not what we need.”
Mr Harrigan said he welcomed everybody and was grateful for the words of comfort they brought to his family.
The motorcade returned to the west along the Long Path where the vehicles stopped again at the accident site, but this time with engines revved up to a screaming pitch. When the motorcade reached the Connor’s residence at Blowing Point, its participants considerably increased the already large crowd thereto several hundred.
Unable to address the gathering, Mrs Rhonda Connor allowed her eldest daughter, Simone, to speak on behalf of the family. Struggling to compose herself, she lamented that her brother Silwood’s death had left the lives ofhis siblings, parents and other family members, including his girlfriend and young son, incomplete. She thanked everyone for showing their love and support for her family over the loss of “a wonderful brother.”
Simone continued: “He left us with a void that can never be filled because he indulged in a sport that thrilled him – that gave him joy, but that we are not prepared for right now at this stage in Anguilla…Why? Statistics show that there are less fatalities in dragracing than there are in regular vehicular accidents…But statistics also show that drag-racing on public streets have the highest rate of vehicular fatalities.
“I understand that we have been given property from the Government of Anguilla. I implore all of the dragracing enthusiasts who are here today: all the money that you guys and my brother invested in your cars – so you can look at them and be proud of them, and take them all the way to Nevis and St Maarten to compete – that you take that money, pool it together, form some type of corporation so that you can fund the development of the dragracing thing in Anguilla. It is the only thing that makes sense. It makes no sense to put money in a car that sounds good [but] you can’t really put it on our streets because when you do you put yourself at risk – you put other people at risk – and then you end up leaving fatherless children and childless mothers and fathers.”
Simone, known for her outgoing personality and forthrightness, said she did not mean to offend anyone, but thought she should speak her mind. She offered to assist with any arrangement to have a dragracing track which would be safer than the public roads for the sport.
She was listened to intently by the mammoth crowd, with many unable to control their own tear-filled emotions. The entire motorcade and stops lasted for well over four hours. The enormity of the crowd was an indication of how big and sad both funerals will be over the coming days.
