A 23-year-old footballer who died in a road accident this week was last night praised as a sporting role model.

Devar Boyles, the president of Western Stars Sports Club, said Jahtino Richardson-Martin, who died on Wednesday, was a talented athlete with a “very outgoing personality”.

Mr Boyles added: “We always recognise traditional role models as people with a certain persona or a scholastic background.

“But Jahtino had a different sort of rhythm about him and people just naturally gravitated towards him.

“He didn’t just accept what was given to him – he wanted a little bit more for himself and others and he was prepared to work for it.

“He was always encouraging other people around him and in my viewpoint that’s the mark of a budding leader.”

Mr Boyle was speaking after police today identified Mr Richardson-Martin, who played for Dandy Town, the fifteenth road fatality of 2021.

Mr Richardson-Martin died after his motorcycle was in collision with a car on North Shore Road, Smith’s around 9am on Wednesday.

The incident happened near the Rubis Terceira’s gas station.

The driver of the car, a 25-year-old man, was uninjured.

Mr Boyles said that Mr Richardson-Martin played university football in the US and UK and had a stint on the Bermuda national team when he was aged 20.

He added that he “admired” Mr Richardson-Martin because of his integrity and desire to “wait for the right opportunity and not just any opportunity”.

Mr Boyles said that the young footballer was not afraid to try new experiences and encouraged his team-mates to seize chances to advance their careers.

The Premier Division match between Dandy Town and Somerset Trojans, which was expected to take place tomorrow, has been postponed until November 14.

Mr Boyles said that present and past football players from a variety of teams had contacted Dandy Town and Mr Richardson-Martin’s family to offer condolences.

He added that others had posted tributes to him on social media.

Mr Boyles said: “You never know the impression that someone makes upon you, but when you find yourself in this particular position sometimes people actually reflect and share those moments with people.

“He’s been plastered all over people’s social media’s statuses, so that shows what he’s meant to people and the impact that he’s had on others in his short time with us.”

Mr Boyles said that Mr Richardson-Martin’s team-mates had asked for counselling to help them cope with the tragedy.

He also backed a police appeal to the public not to share CCTV footage of the crash on social media.

Mr Boyles said: “Reliving that moment is difficult for anyone who’s connected to him.

“The other side of that is the other person involved – this must be difficult for them too, because obviously they played a role in it.

“I would imagine that both sides of this tragedy don’t benefit from it being circulated. It just doesn’t do any good for anyone.”

Mr Boyles asked road users to be careful and that “decisions determine destinations”.

He said: “The decisions that people take and how they use the road determine their destination – whether they arrive there safely or not in the way that they intended to arrive.

“The decisions you take impact not only yourself but others, so we need to be a little bit more conscious of what we do to ourselves.”