In 1975, a 17-year-old boy named Erskine was riding his moped when he was hit by a taxi and died. The shocking part is that the same thing happened to his brother, Neville, exactly a year before. They were both hit by the same taxi, with the same driver, and even the same passenger. This strange story has been shared online a lot, and some people find it hard to believe.
Every day, we encounter numerous facts and stories, but this one stands out due to its extraordinary circumstances. The tale of the twin brothers’ demise has been circulating online for some time, and many find it hard to believe. The brothers were killed in separate road accidents at the age of 17, a year apart (1974 and 1975), under the same circumstances. This story, deemed unbelievable by many, warrants a closer look to determine its veracity.
The tale of the Bermuda Twin Tragedy has often been featured on various Instagram and Facebook conspiracy theory pages. However, the original source of the story is said to be “Phenomena: A Book of Wonders“, published in the late 1970s by John Michell and Robert J.M. Rickard.
The story gained renewed attention when Reader’s Digest reprinted it in 2015, following its initial publication in 2011. The article, titled “What are the Odds?”, was reported in the July 21, 1975 issue of the Royal Gazette newspaper, with the headline ‘Incredible coincidence in road crash deaths’.
Let’s clear the facts –
- Erskine Ebbin and his brother Neville were involved in separate accidents that occurred almost exactly a year apart.
- Both accidents involved the same taxi, which was driven by the same driver and carrying the same passenger.
- Both victims were 17 years old at the time of their accidents.
- They were both riding the same moped on the same road when the accidents occurred.
- Erskine’s accident happened on the night of July 18, 1973, near the Packwood Home in Sandys.
- Neville’s accident occurred on July 30, 1974, on a nearby stretch of Middle Road known as Hog Bay Level.
- The taxi involved in both incidents was driven by a man named Williard Manders.
- According to their father, John Henry Ebbin, the passenger in the taxi was the same person in both instances.
However, a closer examination of the newspaper source reveals that the accidents did not occur exactly a year apart, nor did they take place at the same intersection. Yet, as their father confirmed, the passenger in the taxi was indeed the same both times. This leads to a puzzling question: how could they both be twins, die a year apart, and still be 17 at the time of their deaths? The answer is that Neville and Erskine L. Ebbin were not twins; they were born about a year apart.
Reasonable Version of the story
A more plausible version of the story circulates online: In July 1975, Erskine Lawrence Ebbin was knocked off his moped and killed by a taxi in Hamilton, Bermuda. It was the same taxi, with the same driver, carrying the same passenger, that had killed his brother Neville in July the previous year. Both brothers were 17 when they died and had been riding the same moped on the same street.
A more reasonable explanation of the story also circulates online which is shown below:
In July 1975, Erskine Lawrence Ebbin was knocked off his moped and killed by a taxi in Hamilton, Bermuda. It was the same taxi with the same driver, carrying the same passenger, that had killed his brother Neville in July the previous year. Both brothers were 17 when they died, and had been riding the same moped in the same street.
Coincidence or Just an accident?
So, was it a coincidence or just an accident? Bermuda, with its limited landmass and small population, might provide some context. Its capital, Hamilton, spans a small area of 70 hectares (about 173 acres), with a population of less than 2,000 in 2010. If we consider the population 36 years ago, the number would be even smaller. The number of taxi owners would be minimal, and the number of taxi riders would also be limited. It’s not unusual for a boy to own a moped previously owned by his brother. Therefore, the probability of two brothers getting hit by the same taxi on the same street might not be as small as one might think. While it was a tragic accident, it was also an intriguing coincidence.
In conclusion, the tragic incidents involving Erskine and Neville Ebbin are indeed factual. These two brothers, although not twins, met eerily similar fates almost exactly a year apart. They were both 17 years old, riding the same moped on the same road when they were struck by the same taxi, driven by the same driver, and carrying the same passenger. This series of events, while extraordinarily coincidental, underscores the unpredictable and sometimes inexplicable nature of life’s occurrences. Despite the confusion and speculation surrounding their story, the fact remains that these were two separate incidents involving two brothers who were not twins, but whose lives were tragically cut short under remarkably similar circumstances.
Read about the frightening similarities of Erdington Murders where Mary Ashford and Barbara Forrest, both girls were 20 years old and were slain in the early morning of the hours of May 27, each of their bodies was found partially clothed and showed signs of sexual assault and death by strangling them. Read more, here.
