15-year-old dies on PNP campaign trail

Fifteen-year-old Lamar Grey met a heartbreaking fate when he fell from a bus he boarded for the thrill of exhilarating music in a People's National Party (PNP) campaign motorcade in Portmore, St Catherine, yesterday.

The incident happened about 5:15 p.m. as the motorcade was passing through the Southboro Division. The PNP was using the motorcade to drum up support in the municipality ahead of next Monday's local government election.

"Him dead in mi hand. I was shaking him all the way to the hospital, but he couldn't move," said Charmaine as she stood outside the accident and emergency section of the Spanish Town Hospital, bloodied and appeared to be in a daze.

The woman said Grey, who was not eligible to vote because he has not attained the age of 18, was travelling in the bus with her and other supporters of the PNP before he switched vehicles.

"Him seh him want to hear music so him jumped on the bus in front," she told THE STAR.

Head of the St Catherine South Police Division Senior Superintendent (SSP) Christopher Phillips said Grey was reportedly hopping from one bus to another, a Toyota Hiace, when he fell and hit his head. He was rushed to the Spanish Town Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

It is the second time in the space of the year that the PNP is being rocked by tragedy in Southboro. Last July, the councillor, Ainsley Parkins, was shot and killed by a gunman while overseeing debushing work in the division he represented.

Meanwhile, Charmaine said that a lot of people at the scene of the incident were busy capturing videos on her phone, she grabbed up the teen, with the help of some others, and put him in the police vehicle for him to be transported to the hospital.

Grey's mother, who was completely shaken, could not talk about her son's death.

Despite the incident, the party carried on its campaign activities, touring several other divisions in Portmore before culminating with a mass meeting in Newland

"If we didn't have this unfortunate incident today, the crowd would be bigger," Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas told a huge gathering of PNP supporters at the mass meeting.

Yesterday's incident follows a blood-chilling one that took place in St Thomas on Nomination Day. On that occasion, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporter Ann-Marie Bruce, a resident of Mount George, Yallahs, St Thomas, lost her leg while on the campaign trail.

Bruce was among a group of JLP supporters on the back of a truck, which hit an embankment as the driver attempted to avoid a collision. Her leg was severed as it made contact with rock in the embankment.

Last night, the PNP was in "deep sorrow" over the death of the teen. The party's general secretary, Dr Dayton Campbell, expressed "profound sadness and extends heartfelt condolences" to the bereaved family.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they grapple with the profound loss of their loved one," the PNP said in a media release.

"The PNP commits its unwavering support to the family affected by this terrible tragedy. We stand ready to assist in any way possible and offer our deepest sympathies during this challenging period," the party said.

The PNP has urged its supporters to exercise "heightened vigilance and attention to safety" while campaigning.