Monday, September 16, 2024

3 THE STAR NEWS • Monday, September 16, 2024 @JamaicaStar www.facebook.com/JamaicaStar • www.jamaica-star.com A motor vehicle crash in Waterworks, Westmoreland, has claimed the lives of a young father and his infant child. The accident, which occurred yesterday morning, has shocked the community. The victims have been identified as 22-year-old Ronaldo Kirlew, a labourer fromWhithorn, and his three-month-old daughter, Dinero Kirlew. The collision happened around 7:30 a.m. when Kirlew’s Toyota Mark X crashed into a parked Toyota Axio. Deputy Superintendent Shaunjaye Mitchell, in charge of Westmoreland operations, revealed that speeding may have played a role in the disaster. “Initial reports suggest excessive speed contributed to the accident. The driver lost control, causing the Mark X to become airborne after hitting the Axio,” Mitchell explained. More than 260 persons have died in road crashes since the start of the year. Eighteen children have died as of September 13. The Road Safety Unit said children fatalities increased by 70 per cent when compared with similar period in 2023. With a history of high numbers of fatal accidents, Westmoreland’s roads remain among the most perilous in Jamaica. A staggering 31 persons have died in Westmoreland due to crashes since the start of the year. The Westmoreland police’s accident and reconstruction unit, along with officers from the Savanna-la-Mar Police Station, are investigating yesterday’s crash. In the meantime, Mitchell also issued a stern warning to motorists: “Speeding is a major cause of road fatalities. We urge all drivers to adhere to speed limits, stay alert, and prioritise safety. We are committed to enforcing road safety laws and preventing such tragedies. Please cooperate to make our roads safer for everyone.” Dad and 3-month-old daughter perish in Westmoreland crash SIMONE MORGAN-LINDO STAR Writer W hen hairdresser Karina ‘Kimmy’ Gibson left her Kingston 11 home on July 13 to do a house call in St Elizabeth, her mother, Phillisha Hardy, was not perturbed, as this was nothing abnormal. However, Gibson, who, her mother said, was the only one of her seven children she never had to worry about, has not been seen since. “When she first came to Kingston, her clients would book the appointment online and she would visit them and do their hair. There is camera footage of her leaving. Normally, she would contact me to tell me she is going out, but this time she didn’t,” she said. Hardy lives in St James, and because of the distance, Gibson, 31, ensured that she checked on her daily. “This child don’t go anywhere and nuh call mi. She call every day, and she always tell mi say she don’t know how she would manage if sumpn ever happen to mi; and now, look here. I always know her whereabouts, but now I don’t know where my daughter is,” Hardy said. The family is offering a cash reward for information leading to Gibson’s safe return, but Hardy said the calls that they have been receiving are threatening and disturbing. [The callers say] that they are going to do a lot of things to her [including kill her]. They are coming in from private numbers, so we have recorded them and hand over the recording to the police,” Hardy said. She described her daughter as a burst of sunshine to whom everyone gravitates. “She didn’t have any children, but she would show up for everyone at special functions. She loves her family. It is so painful,” she added. Hardy said Gibson’s partner told her that they made contact up to Sunday, July 14 via telephone, but grew worried when she did not call or return that day. “She told him that she was finishing up the knotless braid that she was doing, so at 2 p.m. he should meet her in Spanish Town. He said he was there until 3 p.m. and didn’t see her. So he was wondering if her battery died and she went straight home instead. So he went back home to check, but she wasn’t there,” she said. All subsequent calls to her phone have not received an answer. “Kimmy is a social media person and she post everything – from what she eat or drink to where she going and what she wearing. She eat and breathe the phone, so when everybody see seh dem nah get to her, we get alarmed,” Hardy said. A report was made at the Olympic Gardens Police Station. According to police reports, Gibson was last seen at home on Ashoka Road, Kingston 11. Her mode of dress is unknown. She is of dark complexion, medium build and 5’ 5” tall. “From that time we don’t have a clear lead. The police are doing their best, but nothing still. I keep trying to find theories to hold on pon to keep me through the days dem. I feel some foul play is involved. I don’t know, but something went wrong, because if she could come home, she would have done so a long time ago,” she said. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Karina Gibson is being asked to contact the Olympic Gardens Police Station at 876 923 5468. Mom’s worst nightmare Family grapples with stylist’s disappearance Mitchell F ile Karina ‘Kimmy’ Gibson C ontributed T he Police High Command has expressed sadness at the death of two police constables who died as a result of injuries they sustained in a motor vehicle accident on the York Town main road, May Pen, Clarendon, yesterday. The deceased have been identified as constables Jessica West and Shawn Atkins, members of the Area 3 Police Division. According to the police, about 6:30 p.m., the cops were in a service vehicle travelling along the roadway, on reaching a section of the roadway, the driver allegedly lost control of the unit that went over a ditch. The injured cops were assisted to the May Pen Hospital where West and Atkins died while a third was admitted in a serious but stable condition. “The Jamaica Constabulary Force is expressing condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the constables, who were assigned to the Area 3 Headquarters in Clarendon,” the police said yesterday. Meanwhile, Dr Lucien Jones, chairman of the National Road Safety Council, describes the loss as a great tragedy. “It’s really a heartbreaking thing to hear, and for the family to experience, about death happening in the line of duty when police personnel are trying to protect and to keep us safe,” Jones said. A staggering 265 road deaths have been recorded since the start of the year. Eighteen of those deaths have occurred in September. Crash claims life of two cops The police service vehicle that overturned along the York Town main road in Clarendon on Sunday evening. C ontributed