Road crash fatality Meshach Swan was a loyal, genuine man with a great sense of fun, his best friend has said.

Mr Swan was one of two young men killed on the Island’s roads in the early hours of yesterday morning in separate accidents.

The 23-year-old CedarBridge Academy graduate and keen sportsman, who worked at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, died after his bike collided with another vehicle on Middle Road in Southampton near Evans Bay Road at around at around 3.45am.

According to police, Mr Swan, from Midland Heights Crescent, Hamilton Parish, was taken by ambulance to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was the eighth road fatality of 2014.

Two women on the bike that was in collision with Mr Swan’s vehicle were also taken to hospital, although their injuries were not life-threatening.

Yesterday friend Antonio Belvedere described Mr Swan as “a brother” who will be missed by family and friends.

“I first met Meshach at Bermuda College and we eventually started hanging out like brothers,” Mr Belvedere said.

“He was a funny guy with a great sense of humour and he never raised his voice, even when he was angry. He never lost his cool.

“He was also a true friend and very loyal — he would give you the shirt off his back. He’s going to be greatly missed.”

Yesterday Mr Swan’s cousin, Oba Swan, posted on the social network site Facebook: “This morning I cried a lot for my family and for my cousin, lil brother and friend Meshach. He will be greatly missed as I miss him already. I’m ever so grateful for the family that I have. We will be strong!”

Less than two hours before Mr Swan’s death, a 32-year-old Pembroke man was killed after his motorcycle smashed into an embankment and stone pillar on Harrington Sound Road near the junction with Cedarberry Drive in Hamilton Parish. The victim died at the scene.

Police were initially unable to identify the dead motorist, and only revealed his age and parish late last night.

“No further information regarding the deceased will be released until the next of kin have been notified,” a spokesman said.

The spokesman added that traffic was delayed for approximately three hours at both accident spots while collision investigators examined the scenes.

“Inquiries into both crashes are ongoing and any witnesses to should contact the Roads Policing Unit on telephone number 247-1788,” the spokesman added.

Yesterday Premier Michael Dunkley said he was shocked and saddened by the double tragedy.

“This has been a tragic weekend that has left two families grieving,” Mr Dunkley said.

“I want to extend my heartfelt and sincere condolences to each of them and encourage our entire community to keep these families in our thoughts during what is undoubtedly a very difficult time.

“We are in the height of the summer season with many activities taking place. As we approach the Cup Match holiday, I want to urge not only all of the motorists on our roads, but our boaters on our waters to please take extra precautions when travelling around our Island to ensure their safety and well being.”

Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell echoed those sentiments, saying: “No family should have to endure such an emotional toll.

“In the span of a few weeks, we have lost three young men to our roads, and this is indeed very concerning to me as the Minister responsible for transport. Road safety remains a priority for this Government, and I want to implore all residents to please be mindful when driving on our roads by exercising care and caution, particularly as we enter a very busy holiday period.”

Shadow Transport Minister Lawrence Scott said the deaths highlighted a crisis in road safety on the Island.

“I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the families of the men who lost their lives,” Mr Scott said.

“One road death is tragic enough, but having two of our youth pass away on our roads is something else.

“These deaths underscore what some might call a health crisis in this country, in terms of people who have lost their lives or had their lives changes as a result of these road traffic accidents.

“I hope we can bring greater awareness to the hazards and the challenges of operating on Bermuda’s roads and work with organisations such as CADA and the Road Safety Council to help educate all road users to make the roads safer.”

Last night CADA executive director Anthony Santucci also offered “most sincere condolences and sympathies to the families and friends of both victims”.

“While we do not know the cause of this particular tragedy yet, statistics show that a significant percentage of deaths that occur on Bermuda’s roads involve alcohol or drugs,” Mr Santucci said.

“CADA commends the Bermuda Police Service for this increase in enforcement, yet more is still needed. In particular, our mandate — which is to encourage responsible alcohol behaviour — strongly supports randomly stopping vehicles as is done in both the UK and in Canada.

“When these random stops have been set up, the public has been given ample notice in advance that the checks will take place and results show there has been a significant reduction in the number of alcohol related road collisions and fatalities.

“At these checkpoints, every tenth or 20th car is stopped for the purpose of checking license and registration and at the same time a determination is made by the police officer, if there is reasonable cause to believe the driver is impaired. Then a roadside test is performed.”