‘Absolutely shocking’
• Family torn apart in devastating crash that kills 4 relatives on PJ Patterson Highway• Road safety stakeholders renew calls for motorists to be more responsible
Published:Monday | March 31, 2025 | 12:09 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
“ T ears are words only God understands.”
These haunting lyrics from Jahvinci’s song ‘ Goodbye’ were the words Steve Morgan posted alongside a photo of his dead niece, 22-year-old Tyesha Manhertz, who was among four family members killed in a horrific two-vehicle crash along the PJ Patterson Highway in St Catherine early Sunday morning.
Manhertz, along with 29-year-old Wendy Lammie, 27-year-old Andre McLeish, and eight-year-old Trey Stewart were all killed in the crash. The victims were relatives and in-laws, all residing in Kingston 7.
The fatal collision occurred just after midnight when a 2022 Mercedes-Benz and a 2002 Toyota Probox were involved in an accident. The passengers in the Probox, mostly children, were travelling back to Kingston after attending a kiddies party in Old Harbour.
Morgan, a mechanic, described how the Probox, driven by McLeish, initially overturned.
“Me a say to myself if a sleep the babyfather (McLeish) sleep away. When the vehicle overturned, nobody died, they were all talking and helping each other to get out the vehicle,” he told The Gleaner yesterday.
“It was about six adults and five children in the vehicle … . They were trying to take the children out and see the lady coming in the GLE (Benz). It seem like no brakes nuh hold. It was a sudden impact, and it tear up the Probox and rip it up,” Morgan recounted.
According to police reports, McLeish, who was driving the Probox, lost control of the vehicle while travelling in an easterly direction. The car hit a median and overturned.
While the occupants of the Probox were in the process of disembarking, the Mercedes-Benz crashed into them, severely injuring several of the passengers. McLeish was later found in a gully due to the violent impact of the collision.
The victims were taken to the Spanish Town Hospital, where the four were pronounced dead.
The police report lists excessive speeding, diverted attention, and a “collision with a vehicle in a previous accident” as possible causes of the fatalities.
The police said the driver of the Mercedes-Benz has been warned for prosecution.
‘HARD WORKER’
Morgan shared with The Gleaner that another niece, a sister of Manhertz, is fighting for her life at the Spanish Town Hospital, unconscious and with a swollen head.
“Her head is swollen and she unconscious; they are trying their best with she. They wanted to transfer her to Public (Kingston Public Hospital) or UC (University Hospital of the West Indies) because they said they don’t have enough equipment to deal with the injuries,” Morgan said.
“Two other children are in the hospital.”
Morgan described his niece Manhertz as a hard-working woman who never depended on anyone.
“Very hard-working, she is a girl weh nuh really depend on nobody. Even if her fiancé no bring in weh him fi bring in, she a make sure she go do fi har work and bring it in for the youth dem. She is a real mother,” he said.
‘SPEEDING AND DISTRACTED DRIVING’
Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chairman of the National Road Safety Council, called the crash “absolutely shocking”.
“The police report suggests that somebody was speeding and that there was distracted driving,” Jones said.
“All hands must be on deck to stop this madness of excessive speeding and distracted driving and distracted walking on our roads.”
As of March 28, road fatalities in Jamaica have decreased by 17 per cent, with 18 fewer fatalities compared to the same period last year. Since the start of the year, 88 road fatalities have been recorded, resulting from 82 fatal collisions.
In 2024, Jamaica recorded a total of 365 road fatalities from 315 fatal crashes.
Colonel Daniel Pryce, director general of road traffic at the Island Traffic Authority, renewed calls for road users to be more responsible.
“In 2025, let us endeavour to be better road users, adhering to the rules of the road and educating those around us about proper road use,” he said.
Yesterday evening, Morgan was still deeply shaken and barely able to contain his grief, uttering, “Jah know me niece, you make me weak. Me can fix car, but not your life; Jah Jah, mi f&$k up right now.”