Police have launched an investigation after a 39-year-old visitor to the Island succumbed to injuries she sustained after a tragic road collision, marking Bermuda's third road fatality for 2008.

Yesterday, just before 11.15 a.m., American Martha Hoopes was travelling east on Middle Road in Southampton on a rental scooter near the junction with Lighthouse Hill when she is thought to have lost control and veered into the westbound lane, colliding with a van travelling the other way.

Ms Hoopes, from Illinois, was travelling with her nine-year-old daughter, who was her pillion passenger. The impact resulted in the girl being positioned underneath the florist's van.

The impact resulted in Ms. Hoopes being catapulted onto the road and rendered unconscious. Motorists told The Royal Gazette the daughter was trapped under the van's engine until she was extracted by the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service some 30 minutes later.

BTC employee Sandy Thomas said he arrived on the scene minutes after the collision and gave this description of what he had seen: "(The daughter) was lying in a foetal position. "Her head was right underneath the van's engine... her fingers were caught under the front tyre... the mother was thrown to the side of the road and the daughter was screaming.

"(The driver) was stunned, he stayed in his vehicle until Itold him to get out. They (fire service personnel) rolled the van back off of her fingers because her fingers were trapped beneath the tyre.

"The heat of the engine alone was worrying me the girl was under the van for the 30 minutes it took for (Police and firefighters) to arrive and rescue her."

Carlton Robinson, first on the scene, happened to be driving by immediately after the collision and leapt into action by calling 911 and abandoning his vehicle to halt traffic.He told The Royal Gazette: "Once I got in my car I called Police again on my mobile phone and I told them, 'get here as soon as possible, now!' because the traffic was backing up... and I had to block everything off.

"The mother was lying across the road while the little girl was trapped under the van. The mother wasn't moving... there was a lot of bleeding.

"Her helmet was lying to the side... she couldn't move, she was in a lot of pain, I got a pillow and a towel from out of the car (to try to comfort her) and all I did next was block the traffic.

"And people have to realise that whenever there is an emergency they need to cut out their motor there's got to be a law because people still think that they can drive across (an accident scene)."

Prior to news of Ms. Hoopes' death, the driver of the van, who was visibly shaken by the incident, declined to talk to The Royal Gazette, only saying: "We're just thinking about the woman."

For around two hours, Police cordoned off the accident scene on Middle Road, from the Waterlot Inn to just before the Raynor Shell gas station, and diverted traffic while accident investigators combed the scene.The Illinois woman was rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance but was subsequently pronounced dead. Her daughter was taken separately via ambulance for treatment of her injuries. Last night as this newspaper went to press she was still in surgery.

Acting Minister of Tourism and Transport, Minister Dale Butler said last night: "I was deeply saddened to hear of the tragic livery cycle accident on our roads earlier today. My thoughts and prayers, as well as those of my Government colleagues, are with the family of Martha Hoopes tonight. We are also hopeful Mrs. Hoopes' young daughter, who was seriously hurt in the accident, is blessed with a speedy and full recovery."

A Government statement said the Department of Tourism had assigned a member of its staff to offer assistance to the grieving family.

"I await word from the Bermuda Police Service on the official cause of the accident, but in the meantime I urge all members of the motoring public -- residents and visitors alike -- to use our roads cautiously," Mr. Butler added.

Senators at the end of the session last night sent their condolences to their family.

A statement from Police last night said: "The Bermuda Police Service extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

"Police are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to contact P.c. Shanita Furbert at the Roads Policing Unit on 295-0011."