KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says a team of first responders have been providing counselling support to the families of the victims of yesterday’s crash on the Rose Hall main road in St James.

Three children and the male driver of the motor vehicle succumbed to injuries they sustained during the 8:00 am accident, while two other minors have been hospitalised.

The driver was transporting the five children to school.

It is said that the Toyota Cressida motor car, which he was operating, got out of control and overturned into a ditch on the main road.

Chief Executive Officer of the CPFSA Rosalee Gage-Grey said that a team visited the accident scene immediately following the crash and did an assessment.

As part of the response mechanism, she said that the team visited the John Rollins Success Primary School, and the community of Providence Heights in the parish to provide immediate grief counseling to relatives, teachers, affected schoolmates and community members.

“When our team visited the various locations, all were mourning the loss of the children and motorist, whose child was also involved, and has been hospitalised since.

“Despite the tragedy, the CPFSA family, relatives of the deceased and surviving children remain hopeful for a speedy recovery for the two which are in hospital; one in critical and the other in stable conditions,” the agency’s CEO said.

She disclosed that the team revisited the hospital, school and community early this morning and spoke to the affected relatives and friends.

The agency said it has since engaged the Victim Support Services Division for ongoing trauma counseling to be provided to the families.

“We will continue to have a presence on the ground to provide support to the affected families, because we know that dealing with the loss of a loved one, especially a child or children, cannot be easy for any parent. Our officers have been doing the necessary visits to the homes, school and community, as part of the intervention,” Gage-Grey added. The CPFSA said it will continue to monitor the children hospitalised, and provide further intervention pertinent to the needs of the affected families.