Sole survivor of 1979 bauxite crash faces uphill battle

Relatives of Charles 'Chulu Man' Simpson, the sole survivor of a 1979 bauxite train crash in St Elizabeth, say that his former employers have not done enough to help him, despite the debilitating injuries he suffered in the incident.

Simpson, who turns 93 next month, was employed by the mining company as a brakeman on the train. His family members said that he lost one of his eyes during the accident.

He now collects just under $4,000 each fortnight from the company as a form of pension, but family members said that it is insufficient to help take care of his needs.

"There is not much I can tell you about the accident itself, because at the time I was living in Kingston, but since it took place my father's life has been torn apart, and the bauxite company has not done much for him since that day," Cherry Simpson, one of Simpson's 15 children, told THE STAR .

The crash, which took place on November 19, 1979, in the New Forest area of Manchester, claimed the lives of Sydney Sinclair, Dudley Gayle and Cecil Lewis.

Simpson, who was badly hurt in the accident, was taken to the Mandeville Regional Hospital where his children said he was hospitalised for a protracted period. They said that he never returned to work after being released from hospital.

"If it was not for us, he would not have been alive today. I had to leave Kingston and return home just to care for him, and all my other sisters and brothers have chipped in and do whatever they can," his daughter said.

She said that her father lost his right leg shortly after the accident due to complications of diabetes. He is currently in a frail state, health-wise, as he has been diagnosed with blood cancer. The elderly Simpson lives in the small farming community of Comma Pen in St Elizabeth, where he is being cared for by his relatives.

Nathan Brown, an elderly Comma Pen resident, said he, too, was employed to Alpart at the time of the accident. He said that he was one of the first persons on the scene.

"Mi remember that dem did a come from Alpart a guh a Port Kaiser with bauxite, but dem developed brakes problem, and the brakeman try fi control the brake. Mi hear seh the brake lever drop out a him hand and the train get outa control," Brown said.

Brown, who is now 78, said the entire community was sent into mourning that day.

"Chulu Man only manage fi escape because him was the brakeman a di back, suh him manage fi jump off, but it was a mourning day that day, because everybody love the man dem - Cecil, Mr Neil and Robin Hood," Brown added.

Another of Simpson's children, Robert, said that although the accident took place 42 years ago, his emotions are still raw. He feels that the bauxite company did not do enough to assist his father after the accident. His sister, Cherry, said that their dad is yet to get a single visit from a representative of the bauxite company.

Attempts to contact JISCO, which acquired Alpart from United Company RUSAL in 2016, for information on Simpson's case proved futile up to press time.