MANDEVILLE, Manchester — State minister in the Ministry of Education, Member of Parliament for Manchester Central Rhoda Moy Crawford is urging more vigilance by road users, particularly students and motorists.

Crawford’s appeal came days after May Day High student Lakeea Thompson, 14, was struck by a reversing Coaster bus last Friday.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our transport operators to have greater care of duty when we use our roads. We have to be more vigilant, and just to remind the students of May Day High School to be mindful of the protocols that are in place for your own safety. I have been in contact with the principal and I know that for years he has been making a special appeal to the students to desist from making that very long walk to the May Day crossing; it is very unfortunate that this is the outcome,” Crawford said on Monday during a visit to the school.

A police report said the bus stopped to pick up students about 3:30 pm. Police said the vehicle moved forward, then reversed and hit Thompson, who was walking behind the bus.

The teenager was taken to the Mandeville Regional Hospital where she died while being treated.

Principal of May Day High School Stanford Davis said the school, which has a population of 992 students, has long struggled with finding a suitable area for the parking of buses to transport students to and from school.

“We were originally a primary school, so naturally we have space constraints and, in terms of an area where we would have buses coming to park and taking the students, that is a challenge. We have discussed it at the board level. We are looking at finding a way, it is unfortunate that this incident should happen at a time like this,” said Davis.

He added that he hopes the unfortunate circumstance surrounding the death of Thompson will be a “springboard” to improve the transportation arrangements for students.

“We are mourning the loss of our student Lakeea Thompson, but at the same time we are going to… ensure that, for the future, that we work together with our ministry, transportation providers, our school board and our community to ensure that we put things in place and get the cooperation of everyone, so that our children who are our future can be save,” he said.

“We want to use this as a springboard for us moving forward to ensure that we put systems in place to minimise these incidents,” added Davis.

Meanwhile, Crawford noted that Friday’s incident happened one week after the funeral for nine-year-old Amoya Moore, who was struck by a garbage truck on her way to school in December on Bonitto Heights in Mandeville.

“We are giving our support to the principal, the rest of the school leaders, teachers, and of course, the students. This is a very tragic and painful moment for all of us especially since we have not even fully recovered from the last incident with young Amoya Moore of Villa Road Primary School,” she said.

According to Crawford, she has spoken to Thompson’s family and has pledged support.

“I have given them my personal commitment to offer as much support as possible. From the ministry’s standpoint, I am here with our regional director who has been very responsive. A team of guidance counsellors from the regional office… has been here since morning and they have been leading counselling sessions with three different groups [including] the students who witnessed the accident, the grade eight students, and the victim’s friends,” Crawford added.

When asked about plans for sidewalks along school zones across Mandeville and its environs, Crawford said she would be lobbying the National Works Agency (NWA) to implement more safety measures for pedestrians.

“We have plans in place to erect sidewalks along the deCarteret corridor. With the news of this incident and a similar incident we have heard years ago I will have to speak with the NWA to see the possibility, but in the meantime we want to encourage students to desist from making the walk there,” she said.

“There [are] areas that we expect the students to stand to await transportation, and we also want to use this opportunity to encourage the parents to make use of the Rural School Bus System. This may be an opportunity to advocate for an additional bus for May Day High School, because the principal indicated to us that the parents have been taking up the use of the school bus system, so there might be a need for another,” added Crawford.

Undated photo of 14-year-old Lakeea Thompson.

Principal of May Day High School Stanford Davis speaking to the media on Monday during a tour of the school by state minister in the Ministry of Education Rhoda Moy Crawford (right) on Monday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)