FALMOUTH, Trelawny — When her son, 23-year-old fisherman Kimani Thompson of Cornwall Street, Falmouth, did not comment as usual on a picture she posted on social media Saturday night into Sunday morning, Angella Robinson had a gut feeling something was amiss.

She became even more concerned when calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

She was, however, not prepared for the bombshell she was to receive early Sunday morning when she was informed that Kimani was among the four people who died in a motor vehicle crash on the section of the north coast leg of Highway 2000 that passes through Rock district, in the vicinity of a traffic light.

The other deceased have been identified as 25-year-old lifeguard Jason Reid of Peel Street, Falmouth; 24-year-old Andre Gonzales, a photographer of Mockingbird Avenue, Florence Hall, Trelawny; and 24-year-old Marco Williams of Pimento Walk, Ocho Rios, St Ann. They were all travelling in a 2012 Toyota Mark X, driven by Thompson, that collided with a 2021 Audi Q3 motor car.

The two occupants of the Audi Q3 were admitted in Falmouth Public General Hospital for treatment.

A distraught Robinson was overcome with grief when the
Jamaica Observer team caught up with her at the Falmouth hospital Sunday morning.

“I went to an engagement party last [Saturday] night and I posted some pictures on my
WhatsApp. Normally he [Thompson] would comment on it and say ‘Mommy, you look nice.’ And [I have] been calling him and couldn’t get any answer, and this [Sunday] morning me come to the Falmouth hospital and is this me come into,” the distressed mother said, her face contorted with grief.

“I just got a phone call from my daughter but she didn’t want to tell me what happened; she talked to my fiancé,” she added.

According to commander of the Trelawny Police Division, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Winston Milton, about 2:32 am Thompson was driving a Toyota Mark X motor car on the Rock main road towards Falmouth — with Gonzales, Williams and Reid on board — when, upon reaching the intersection at the Daniel Town crossing, the Mark X collided with an Audi Q3 motor car that was attempting to make a right turn at the traffic light.

The police were summoned and all four occupants of the Mark X motor car were transported to hospital where they succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment.

The passengers of the Audi Q3 — a man and a woman — were admitted in stable condition.

Milton, who attributed one of the causes of the crash to speeding, used the opportunity to again warn motorists against speeding, and appealed for obedience to the road traffic laws.

“It was evident speed was a factor in this accident. We continue to appeal to our motorists to obey the speed limit on the road because speeding significantly reduces your response time to avoid collisions, and it increases the severity,” “ DSP Milton said.

“Whereas they could possibly walk out with minor injuries or no injuries at all, this elevated to fatality. So, we continue to educate and enforce,” the senior cop added.

Meanwhile, Robinson was among other family members who described her son as a jovial individual.

“Good youth, jovial. He was so jovial,” she said as she broke down in tears.

Kimoya Thompson, a grief-stricken sister, concurred with her mother.

“My brother was a very jovial person. He liked to go fishing, he liked to hang [out] with his friends, and go on road trips and things like that,” she reflected.

Last year 21 people lost their lives in motor vehicular crashes in the parish, three fewer than the 24 recorded the previous year.