The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG


Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

CORPORAL Steven Duncombe was conscious and talking after the motorcycle crash that would claim his life two days later, telling his younger brother from his hospital bed that he was enduring the “worst pain” he had ever felt.


“He was talking when I spoke to him,” Ramon Burnside said. “He said he don’t wish this pain on anyone. He said this is the worst pain he had ever felt.”


Corporal Duncombe, 37, a Royal Bahamas Police Force Traffic Division officer, never regained consciousness after undergoing surgery, according to his brother. 

He died early Monday from injuries sustained when his motorcycle collided with a car on Prince Charles Drive on Saturday while he was reportedly escorting a funeral.


“He didn’t show signs of losing his life,” Mr Burnside said, “but he was able to express and explain how it happened.”


An urgent appeal for blood donations circulated on social media as Corporal Duncombe remained hospitalised over the weekend. 

Mr Burnside said his mother called him after the crash and urged him to get to the hospital.

The family is currently seeking clarity surrounding the circumstances of Corporal Duncombe’s death.



“After the surgery, he never woke up,” Mr Burnside said.



A Doctors Hospital representative declined to comment, citing patient confidentiality regulations.



Police said their preliminary investigation found that Corporal Duncombe was travelling west along Prince Charles Drive when the driver of a Suzuki reportedly turned right onto Garden Road, resulting in the collision.



Officer-in-Charge of the Traffic Division, Chief Superintendent Sybrina Porter, stated that police will issue a definitive statement once the official investigation is complete.



As police investigate the circumstances of the crash, Corporal Duncombe’s family is confronting the loss of a man Mr Burnside said he had spent his life looking up to.



“Steven and I shared a childhood, shared experiences, and shared the bond that only brothers can truly understand,” Mr Burnside said.



He described his older brother as hardworking and principled; a man committed to doing what was right.



“As his younger brother, I am proud of Steven,” Mr Burnside said. “I am proud of the man he became. I am proud of the service he gave to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. I am proud of the way he carried himself, the people he encouraged, and the lives he touched.”



That pride, he said, now exists alongside an emptiness that has changed the meaning of memories the brothers accumulated over a lifetime.



“Losing a brother changes you,” Mr Burnside said. “There is an emptiness that cannot simply be filled, and there are memories that suddenly mean more than they ever did before.”

The family now finds itself returning to conversations, laughter and other seemingly ordinary moments that have become precious since Corporal Duncombe’s death.



“There is something especially difficult,” Mr Burnside said, “about losing someone who still had so much more to give.”



Corporal Duncombe had no children.


Mr Burnside said his brother’s decision to join the Royal Bahamas Police Force was partly inspired by a close group of friends, several of whom decided to become officers because of their love for police work.

Corporal Duncombe would tell his family: “I’m a protector and I’m here to keep my family safe.”



His brother said one of the clearest measures of the man Corporal Duncombe became was the respect he earned from colleagues, friends and members of the public.



“Steven was the kind of person who encouraged others,” Mr Burnside said. “He supported his colleagues and made those around him feel that they mattered.”



“He was not simply someone who wore the uniform,” he said. “He was someone who understood what that uniform represented.”



Mr Burnside said people would approach the family to praise his brother’s work, while officers, friends and members of the community spoke about him with genuine respect.



“That meant a great deal to our family,” he said, “because it showed that the person we knew at home was the same person others experienced in their lives.”



“Steven touched many lives,” Mr Burnside said, “sometimes in ways he probably never fully realized.”