D’Angel shocked as personal banker, husband killed in crash

Yesterday when dancehall artiste D'Angel went to church, she said she had a special prayer for the daughters of O'Neil and Camesha Linsday-Stevens, the Jamaican couple who died in a motor vehicle crash on a highway in the US last Friday.

Stevens was the principal of the Kingston-based Jessie Ripoll Primary School, while his wife was employed to Scotiabank.

"It's crazy and emotional; out of this world. I just don't know, but when I heard the news, it really shock me [up] and it just shows that life is really unpredictable and things can happen in the worst way you can ever imagine," D'Angel said. The couple were struck by a vehicle after reportedly stopping to change a flat tyre. They had just completed their Christmas vacation with their two daughters in South Carolina and were heading to the airport to board a flight back home to Jamaica. D'Angel said she met Lindsay-Stevens approximately two years ago and she had been her personal banker since then. She said a few days before Christmas, she had visited her office to surprise her with a gift.

"She is my banker and she is the sweetest person. She had a warm personality and because of the way she treated me as a client, I got her a gift for Christmas. I wanted it to be a surprise, but when I went to drop it off she wasn't there. So I left it at her desk. I called her and told her, and she was very excited and appreciative. Two days ago I messaged her and asked her how she didn't tell mi if she liked it, and I never got a response," she said.

The entertainer told THE STAR that her heart is heavy, and she cannot imagine the grief that the children are experiencing.

"As a mother, it grieves my heart to know that the children have lost both parents. It's the hardest pain for a family. I knew Camesha just through the bank, but it hurts. I just want to say condolences to the family; and I will continue to pray for their children and put them in God's hands. It is going to be a long, hard walk for them through this process, and I pray the Almighty never takes His hands off their children," she said.

Tributes have also poured in for Stevens, who was hailed by Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon as "more than an exemplary leader - he was a beacon of inspiration and dedication". The ministry has deployed trauma and grief counselling teams to support staff and students when they return to school on Tuesday. Chair of the school board, Marcia Thwaites, said Stevens served with mature wisdom, endearing himself to staff, students, parents, and alumni alike.

"He has contributed greatly to Jessie Ripoll's deserved reputation as one of the nation's finest primary schools," Thwaites said.

A past student of Kingston College and Mico Teachers' College - now named The Mico University College - Stevens taught social studies at Donald Quarrie High School in Kingston for years before becoming principal at Jessie Ripoll seven years ago.