LENNOX Lloyd — the 15-year-old Ascot High School student who last month died tragically when the bus in which he was travelling overturned in Portmore, St Catherine — was laid to rest yesterday.

Lloyd was buried at the Meadowrest Memorial Gardens in St Catherine, following an emotional service at the Truth Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church in Cumberland, Portmore, yesterday afternoon.

The despondent faces of Lloyd’s relatives and friends reflected their agony as tributes were offered.

Pressing his handkerchief to his face, best friend and schoolmate Rodrick York cried uncontrollably as his neighbour, Jennifer Russell, delivered the tribute he had prepared but which grief had denied him the ability to read.

“Lennox and I were more than just friends. We were like twin brothers. Anywhere you see me you see Elvis (Lloyd’s alias),” read Russell on behalf of York, who coincidentally shared Lloyd’s April 18 birth date.

“We did almost everything as friends. We hoped nothing would tear us apart until May 29, 2012 when the unexpected happened,” she continued, rubbing York’s shoulder as he sobbed convulsively.

“We left for school that morning, and as we waited at the bus stop we shared jokes and talked,” wrote York. “We boarded the bus together not knowing that this time would be our last time travelling together. Then tragedy struck; Elvis is no longer here. Now we cannot do the things we did together…”

Lloyd — an eighth grade student — was crushed to death when the crammed bus in which he, York, and other students were travelling overturned near Maxie’s Department Store, opposite to Portmore Mall in St Catherine, about 8:00 am.

Three other Ascot High School students were also injured in the accident. They have since been treated and released from hospital.

Onlookers claimed the accident occurred when the bus driver tried to elude members of the Transport Authority who had signalled him to stop. The driver, who fled the scene, has since turned himself in to the police.

Lloyd was the second person in his family to die since the start of the year, relatives said.

Yesterday, those who attended Lloyd’s funeral service sang, screamed, and ‘spoke in tongues’ as Everald Scarlett, a member of the church, delivered a touching rendition of the song He Raised Me Up.

Earlier, Lloyd’s aunt, Cherryl Kerr, said she was convinced that her nephew’s death was a sign that her family should get closer to God.

“Lennox’s death has brought deep sadness to our family; this is too much for us. We need to get closer to God,” she said, directing her words at relatives sitting in the front pew. “We need to forge a stronger bond with God. “My sisters, I am begging you, please look into your lives; seek God,” she said.

People’s National Party Member of Parliament for South East St Catherine Collin Fagan; a representative from the Route Taxi Association of Jamaica (RTAJ); Ascot High students, teachers, and parents; and dozens of Lloyd’s colleagues from the National Inter-School Brigade (NIB) attended the funeral.

Sergeant Kamal Philibert of the NIB, who recruited Lloyd three years ago, said the youngster was always “disciplined, a loving cadet, someone who always paid his dues, and one who was not afraid to play mind tricks on people”.

Fagan, as well as the representative of the RTAJ, urged the authorities and parents alike to demand more stringent control for the island’s transportation system.

“Lewd music starts everything that can go wrong, and some of us parents are at fault,” posited Fagan. “Because when police stop the bus drivers you curse, saying that ‘the man must earn a living’, not knowing how dangerous some of these drivers are”.

Yesterday’s sermon was delivered by Bishop Wendell Rankine, who urged congregants to prepare for their deaths.

“It is time for you to prepare. I challenge you that when you go to Meadowrest and you look at the graves, is not all of them are long (age); young people die, old people die, anyone of us can die at anytime,” said Rankine. “So we must be prepared, because there is no repentance in the grave.”