Grown man runs from hearses - says some drivers deliberately provoke him

Whenever Oliver Vernon sees or hears a hearse coming, he usually runs and hides.

For as long as he can remember, the 46-year-old higgler has had a severe phobia of the vehicles that transport dead bodies to funerals.

"Mi just no love them thing deh from me a youth till now. Mi no so like them thing deh and more time the man dem provoke me," he said.

He says that even some hearse drivers take pleasure getting a laugh by exploiting his fear.

"Dem stop all a me place and a gwaan the most way and me no like them. The man them come up all pon me step a me shop one a the time and me affi lock up in deh and all affi jook after one a dem wid me cutlass," he said.

He says that he does not know where his fear comes from, but he tries his best to avoid everything that has to do with the dead.

"A nuff man no eat pork and yu can't tell him fi eat pork. A just my thing that," he said. "Me born come see me old man a make coffin and me tell him say me don't like it. Him use to make it a mi yard and me tell him mi don't like it daddy and him stop dweet," he continued.

He is so fearful of death that when his parents passed, he did not even attend their funerals.

But despite his fear, he cooks at nine nights and grave diggings to earn some money.

"Me go dead yard go cook cause no dead no deh, a just people deh round me," he said.

He recalled that recently, his blood pressure went up after becoming extremely scared during an encounter with a hearse driver.

"It go up sake a dem and a man not even know say likkle most me all drop dung," he said.

Vernon said he wants them to stop teasing him but persons from his community are constantly pointing him out to hearse drivers.