Bermuda’s first road fatality of the year, Jereme Cumbermack, 33, of Sandys, was a leading resident tennis player, having represented the US Virgin Islands as a member of their Davis Cup team in 2005.

Mr Cumbermack was remembered by friends as active in the local tennis world and as a winning team member of last year’s league tennis. He was also remembered for his support of young players and as a member of the tennis charity Temple of Tennis, which provides tennis enthusiasts with the opportunity to play the game at little or no cost.

Mr Cumbermack, who was married to Patrina and has three children, died after a serious collision yesterday morning on Middle Road in Warwick.

The crash occurred near the junction with Morgan Road at about 7.50am. His death — the fifth road fatality in less than a month — has prompted statements citing evidence of bad driving culture from the Police and from Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell who has pledged “all available resources” to address the carnage on the Island’s roads.

According to a Police spokeswoman, it appeared that Mr Cumbermack was riding his motorcycle east along Middle Road when he lost control and collided with a car. He was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

He was the only person injured in the collision.

Ricky Mallory, president of the Temple of Tennis, said that Mr Cumbermack had played for the charity’s A league team. “He was an intricate part of winning the league in 2014,” he said.

Mr Mallory called the leading tennis player a “humble” man, and said: “He was always looking to help with the juniors,” remembering that he was willing to hit balls or play with them.

“This is definitely a shock for us,” he said.

Friend and fellow top tennis player Jenson Bascome said the deceased man had lived in Bermuda for many years. “He was a team player — he was someone you could depend on.

“He was someone who was passionate about tennis, someone you could definitely rely on to be out training and play matches. We were looking forward to starting some league matches this weekend actually. This is quite a shock.”

Mr Bascome added: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family here and overseas. We are praying for them and wishing them God’s comfort during this very difficult time.”

A family liaison officer has been assigned to Mr Cumbermack’s family and a full investigation into the crash is now under way.

Traffic collision investigators completed processing the scene just after 10am and the section of Middle Road that had been closed after the accident was reopened to traffic.

Police are keen to speak to any witnesses to the collision and have asked that anyone who saw the accident contact Pc Sean Hassell of the Roads Policing Unit at 247-1200, or shassell@bps.bm.

“Our message is simple: we just need Bermudians and other persons to slow down and observe all the laws of the road,” police spokeswoman Mica Murray said at the scene.

Mr Crockwell paid his respects in a statement issued yesterday afternoon.

“It is with a heavy heart that I offer my sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Cumbermack — my prayers and thoughts are with them as they deal with their loss and grief,” Mr Crockwell said. “This is very sad and 2015 has not started out very well for this family or the families of those who have been impacted by road collisions in the past few weeks.

“In such a short span of time, we have lost three people on our roads. This is indeed a tragedy.

“As I said last week, our community must be involved in making our roads safe. It is definitely time for us to come together and deal with our road safety issues. I am very troubled by this endless trend of carnage on our roads and I will pull all available resources to address this national issue.”

Shadow Transport Minister Lawrence Scott also extended his “heartfelt condolences” to the family of Mr Cumbermack.

“With the recent increase in traffic accidents and fatalities, we strongly encourage all motorists to take their time, drive with caution and due care, and to reduce their speed,” he said.

•Additional reporting by Lisa Simpson