Barbados Police officer killed in hit-and-run accident

BRIDETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Police in Barbados have stated that they are treating the death of a police officer as a road traffic incident "until any other evidence comes to hand that would suggest otherwise."

Authorities confirmed that Antonio Rochester, 50, from the Marine Department, was struck by a vehicle on Wednesday. A manhunt is currently underway for the driver who fled the scene after the incident.

The police said the vehicle did not stop but “continued travelling a fair distance” from the scene of the incident in St Michael and that the driver of the vehicle then fled.

Rochester, with more than 30 years in the Barbados Police Force (BPF), was later pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders.

In a statement, Police Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Inspector Rodney Inniss, said many of his colleagues “are under the weather,” after they “received reports that a pedestrian was struck and that pedestrian turned out to be one of our own who lives in the area. He unfortunately died at the scene.

“It is very difficult to deal with at this time for both the police and the family members,” he said, paying condolences on behalf of the force to Rochester's wife, children, and parents.

The police have since issued an urgent appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the accident to come forward.