St Johns Road mourns three men killed in Trelawny crash

The black buntings hanging across St Johns Road on the outskirts of Spanish Town fluttered gently in the breeze on Thursday, but they could not soften the grief that has settled over the close-knit St Catherine community.

Behind gates draped in black, mothers, relatives, and lifelong friends are struggling to accept that what began as another routine pre-dawn work trip ended in unimaginable tragedy last Friday, leaving three families shattered and an entire community grieving.

Anthony Rose, 65; Marlon Thompson; and Oniel Campbell left St Johns Road at about 4:30 a.m. last Friday, bound for Cornwall Street in Falmouth, Trelawny, to deliver a shipment of motor vehicle parts. It was a journey they made regularly to destinations across the island before returning home.

But less than three miles from their destination, disaster struck when a Toyota Hiace minibus reportedly attempted to overtake other vehicles and crashed head-on into their truck.

Rose and his two co-workers died at the scene and had to be cut from the mangled wreckage by firefighters from the Falmouth Fire Station. Four occupants of the minibus also died, while its driver remains hospitalised in serious condition.

For Elmina Henry, Rose’s aunt, the news came in a most cruel manner.

“He was at my house on Thursday night before he went home to rest because he had to wake up early for work,” she recalled.

“I was inside my room, and my son came and said, ‘Mama, stay good,’ Mi say, ‘What you talking about?’ And he said, ‘You don’t hear?’ And I said, ‘Hear what?’ And he said, ‘Tony crash and dead’.”

Standing in her front yard beneath the black buntings, Henry fought back tears as she remembered the father of five.

“Mi just start bawl, bawl. Up to now, mi can’t come to it; can’t eat since I hear the news,” she told The Gleaner.

UNEASY FEELING

For Marvalyn Willis, the final goodbye to her 49-year-old only son, Marlon Thompson, seemed no different.

“He woke up early as usual, shower and put on his clothes. I walk him to the gate as customary, and I said God go with you, and he left.”

Later that morning, as she did laundry, an uneasy feeling came over her.

“I didn’t know when the accident happened, but I was doing laundry and a feeling came over me, one like I want to cry.”

When she heard a radio report about a deadly crash near Falmouth, she desperately tried calling him.

“Not knowing which parish they had gone to, I decided to call ‘Bally’, my son’s nickname, so I dialled his number several times and no answer,” she recalled.

“It’s hard. He is my only son. I wasn’t expecting this. It’s hard. They were friends. The entire Johns Road love them.”

PAINFUL ECHO

Delaree McLaughlin said the last conversation with her son, Oniel Campbell, now echoes painfully in her mind.

“The last words he said to me was, ‘Mommy, I love you, and I am going work hard to buy you a house so you can stop paying rent.’ He also told his sister that he loved her, too.”

“When I got the news, I drop down in Spanish Town, and they prayed for me and I revive,” she recalled.

Adding another heartbreaking layer to the tragedy, McLaughlin said the last message on her son’s phone was a birthday greeting sent around 5 a.m. to his mentor, businessman and reggae artiste Stanley Cruise. Cruise replied about an hour later and noticed the blue ticks on WhatsApp, indicating that the message had been read.

“This youth is a good youth. He is real as real can be. The entire St Johns Road respect him because he is so mature. I am still in shock,” Cruise said as he prepared to host a candlelight vigil in Campbell’s memory.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com