MONTEGO BAY, St James

Karl Matheson, whose wife Denise was killed last month in a motor vehicle accident in the resort city, is appealing to motorists to exercise due care on

the roads.

“I say it everyday, we need to slow down and we need be more careful in the way we drive,” Karl said,

blaming speeding by another motorist for the untimely death of his wife, a former employee of the Air

Jamaica reservations department in Montego Bay.

Reports are that Denise was driving her mother’s Toyota Carolla motor car licensed 5056 DN to work at the Air Jamaica’s Queen’s Drive offices on March 7, when she was hit by another vehicle in the vicinity of the traffic signal at the junction of the Fairfield and Westgreen communities.

Karl, a mechanical engineer, said he was told by an eyewitness that the vehicle that collided with Denise’s vehicle was speeding when the accident occurred.

His wife, who suffered multiple injuries, was taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries, two days later.

She was laid to rest last Saturday, following a thanksgiving Service at the Lighthouse of Faith Ministries International in Rosemount.

Apart from Karl, the 37-year-old airline employee left behind a slew of relatives, friends and family members, including sons Simon, 2; Seth, 5; and Sam, 9.

Earlier this week, Karl in an interview with the Observer West said that he was “trying his best” to cope with the situation.

He admits though, that it’s not easy.

“The death was sudden, it’s really hard to deal with, but as a man with Christian beliefs I believe that things will work out,” he reasoned.

“Sometimes in the mornings when I wake up and realise what has happened it is like a nightmare but I know that I have to be strong for them (the children),” he added.

Karl said since Denise’s death on a typical day he is usually up by 6:30 am and with the assistance of a live-in helper, gets the children ready for school by 8:00 am.

He picks them up by 4:00 pm and heads to their Irwin Gardens residence.

Soon afterwards, they all gather around the table in the house where the children do their homework.

Karl – a strong disciplinarian – notes, however, that he does not encounter much difficulty in dealing with the children, particularly because of the tight bond that exists between them.

“We are very, very close and I seriously try to live the way how the Bible say that we are to live so it is not much of a problem,” he explained.

“I honestly believe that at the end of the day God is going to say what have you done for them while you are alive? I really believe that I am going to be held accountable for them so I have to do my best despite the circumstances,” he said.