The Edwin Allen High School community was still grappling with the grief of losing two students between September and early November when it was met with heartbreaking news once again: A third student had died in a car crash Sunday night.

“This is our third such incident that we are treating with,” said Principal Jermaine Harris. “It has been a very difficult time from September. Since my time as principal — and this is my fifth year — we have never had such a rapid sequence of death, so you can imagine senior leadership, a lot of staff and students are not dealing [with it well].”

On Monday morning, when the Jamaica Observer arrived at the school in Clarendon, the shock of 14-year-old Jaydon Smith’s death was still fresh.

One of his teachers, upon being asked what kind of student he was, simply put her head on a school desk and cried, unable to speak further, while another teacher expressed that the school had not gotten a break from the cloud of grief that continues to thicken since classes began after summer.

The school was first plunged into mourning in September when 15-year-old student athlete Tanesha Gayle fell ill during training. The youngster, described as a rising track star by Harris, was rushed to the school doctor and then to hospital where she died.

The principal explained that a single sudden and unexpected death was painful enough, citing the youngster’s potential.

Then, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28, a male Grade 11 student died. The circumstances of his death are unclear.

Harris told the Observer that an investigation has been launched into the matter.

“Currently, he is not yet buried; we are also dealing with that loss, and today we heard about Jaydon,” Harris said.

“A lot of questions are being asked: Why Edwin Allen? Why this is happening? So we have to now provide the psychosocial support and grief counselling. We have three guidance counsellors and they are overworked,” Harris said.

Jaydon, who is from Crawl River District in Clarendon, passed on Sunday night after being injured in a single-vehicle crash on the Chapelton main road.

Police report that about 6:30 pm he was a passenger in a Nissan Sunny motor car when it collided into a wall.

Both occupants were taken to hospital where Jaydon was pronounced dead.

Harris explained that when the news reached the school, emergency personnel was called immediately.

“Right away, we had to activate our trauma response team to provide support for his classmates, the school family, and staff members,” he explained.

During assembly on Monday morning, Harris led the school in observing a moment of silence for Jaydon.

“[Sometimes] you can’t find the words to offer that reassurance, but always during this time show empathy and extend yourself as much as possible to those severely affected,” the principal told the
Observer.

He said the school, which has won the ISSA/GraceKennedy Girls’ Championship title 10 times — its most recent being in 2024 — will always be the home of champions, and while training is ongoing for the looming track season, it is focusing on the mental health of students and staff as well as the recovery of the school.

Edwin Allen High School students leave general assembly on Monday morning after grief counselling was administered following the death of their 14-year-old schoolmate student Jaydon Smith in a car crash Sunday night. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Edwin Allen High School Principal Jermaine Harris is in a sombre mood while speaking with the Jamaica Observer on Monday.