SHEFFIELD, Westmoreland — A bizarre incident in which a 15-year-old student with special needs was hit by a motor vehicle on the Sheffield main road in Westmoreland, leaving him hospitalised in critical condition on Monday, has left the community shocked and puzzled.

The horrific incident has gone viral on social media, with some users questioning why the person recording the child’s erratic behaviour did not intervene as he walked into traffic.

However, according to the woman who recorded the incident and others in Sheffield who asked not to be identified by name, the child told them he wanted to kill himself.

“Everybody is traumatised. I am traumatised. As a matter of fact, I haven’t slept since the incident because we spoke with him so many times. He kept middling the road — white lines on opposite sides,” the woman told the
Jamaica Observer during a visit to the area Tuesday.

She said she bought the teen a bottle of water, gave him money to take a taxi, and told him to go home. However, he reportedly went halfway and returned.

The woman said she took a photo of the boy and posted it to her social media status in the hope that someone would recognise him and contact his driver. The driver eventually came, she said, and told the boy his father said he should go home.

“I was taking a video so that I could give an account for whichever taxi he took. I saw him going across the road, and I thought he was going to go home. I did not know that it was a suicidal attempt,” relayed the woman. “Clearly it was a suicidal attempt if he said he wanted to kill himself.”

She said others had also urged the boy to go home but he ignored them all.

Another woman, who works in the area, also said she heard the boy threaten to commit suicide.

“Then afterwards, I saw him running up and down across the road,” she told the Observer.

In the video the boy could be seen moving back and forth in the road. He later went to the side before suddenly attempting to leap across the road. He was hit by a multi-purpose minivan. His limp body flipped in the air from the impact of the collision. He was rushed to hospital by a female resident and her cousin from the area.

The woman said she was home when she heard people screaming and went outside to see the child in the road.

“I am the one who took him to the hospital. I wait till his father and mother come. When they came I left because was not leaving him. All if I don’t know you, I am not leaving you because you are a child. I have six children. No, I am not leaving you,” she said.

Principal of Llandilo School of Special Education, Roy Reid told the
Observer the boy has been attending the school since age seven but his condition worsened about three years ago. He said the student has a severe intellectual disability when it comes to taking instructions. The child is said to exhibit unpredictable behaviour and has to be monitored closely to prevent harm to others and property.

Reid noted that while there had been no need to call the boy’s parents in recent times, there was a noticeable change in his behaviour on Monday. A recommendation was made for his parents to be called, however, there was no need to do so as his regular driver came early and picked him up.

“We were very surprised and sorrowful. It drove the entire school into mourning because, seeing the video, we know what damage he could have sustained physically. We are happy that he is out of surgery and should be on the road to recovery,” stated Reid.

“In terms of his academic performance, he was a typical student who could manage our curriculum material and sporting activities,” stated the principal.