FIVE KILLED IN 12 HOURS ACROSS JAMAICA IN MULTIPLE CRASHES

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JAMAICA , A devastating series of road accidents on Sunday, June 1, 2025, has left five people dead  including two foreign nationals in what is being described as one of the deadliest 12-hour stretches on Jamaica's roads this year.

Dr. Lucien Jones, Vice Chairman of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), summed it up with grim clarity: “Absolute mayhem yesterday.”

The crashes occurred across three parishes  St Mary, St James, and St Elizabeth  and highlighted a disturbing pattern of reckless behavior, misjudgment, and poor road habits, according to police and eyewitness reports.

BREAKDOWN OF SUNDAY’S TRAGEDIES

  • St Mary: 24-year-old Ronaldo Blackwood of Highgate, Above Rocks, was found lifeless in a ditch next to his motorcycle in Annotto Bay around 4:00 a.m. Police believe the crash may have occurred hours earlier.

  • St James: At 11:33 a.m., a 62-year-old male pedestrian was struck and killed on Howard Cooke Boulevard near Harmony Car Park. Preliminary findings point to pedestrian error and possible driver negligence.

  • St Elizabeth: Just an hour later, another pedestrian, 72, died in Junction while allegedly attempting to “steal a ride” by holding onto a moving vehicle.

  • St Elizabeth (Rocky Hill): Around 5:50 p.m., a private Toyota motorcar collided with a mini bus on the Rocky Hill main road near Santa Cruz, killing two foreign nationals, aged 41 and 62. The suspected cause? Excessive speeding and failure to stay within the proper lane.

These five fatalities came just one day after a 71-year-old pedestrian was killed on Washington Boulevard in St Andrew, and two days after another foreign national died in St Thomas.

TROUBLING STATISTICS

Since January 1, at least 162 people have died in 147 fatal crashes across Jamaica. While road deaths are down 10% and fatal crashes are down 5% compared to last year, the numbers remain alarming.

  • Pedestrians account for 33% of road deaths (36 fatalities).

  • Motorcyclists make up 28% (44 deaths).

The NRSC points to speeding, failure to keep left, and driver misjudgment as recurring causes behind the carnage.

OUR TAKE: TIME TO TURN “MAYHEM” INTO MOMENTUM FOR CHANGE

The deaths on June 1 weren’t just tragic — they were preventable. This isn’t just a policing problem, a road maintenance issue, or a driver education failure. It’s all of those things, at once.

Here’s what needs to happen now to prevent more unnecessary deaths:

  1. Smart Speed Enforcement: Install speed cameras at high-risk zones and make penalties severe enough to deter careless behavior.

  2. Driver Retraining Programs: Every commercial and public transport driver should undergo annual safety evaluations and refresher training.

  3. Pedestrian Safety Zones: Improve infrastructure in urban areas with clear pedestrian walkways, overhead bridges, and strict no-walk zones.

  4. Motorcyclist Helmet Laws: Enforce helmet use and educate young riders about the real risks they face — nearly one-third of all fatalities.

  5. National Recklessness Campaign: Just like anti-smoking or anti-drug campaigns, Jamaica needs a bold, media-driven effort to change road culture — starting in schools, churches, and communities.

The loss of life should not become routine news. It's time we stop calling it "mayhem" after the fact  and start preventing it with a national strategy that makes safety non-negotiable.