Reckless rider leaves schoolgirl in recovery

Western Bureau:

Twelve-year-old Shaville Moodie, a first-form student at Frome Technical High School in Westmoreland, says she feels “unhappy” and “uncomfortable” after injuries from a motorcycle crash forced her to miss her internal examinations.

Moodie was struck by a motorcycle near the school gate shortly after classes ended on February 26, leaving her with a head injury, deep cuts, and abrasions that now require ongoing medical treatment.

The incident quickly gained attention on social media after a photo circulated online showing the nurse at the school tending to the injured grade-seven student shortly after the crash. Reports are that the driver of the motorcycle was performing stunts when Moodie was injured

In an interview with The Gleaner, the soft-spoken student said she remembers very little about the moment she was hit, as she seemingly blacked out when the motorcycle crashed into her.

“I only remember when I was lying on the ground, bleeding out,” she said. “I was feeling pain ... pain ... . And I was sad.”

DISTRESSED OVER MISSING EXAMS

Now recovering at home, she said she is distressed about missing her school’s internal examinations.

“I cannot sit and do my exam. I’m here at home ... every day,” she said.

She also admitted feeling “uncomfortable” being at home on a school day, explaining that she misses her classmates and teachers.

Moodie said she continues to experience intermittent pain in her head from the injury, explaining that the pain comes “once in a while”, although medication helps when it occurs.

Meanwhile, her mother, Shanelle Grant, said she first learnt something was wrong when she received a call while at work.

“When I get the call, I was at work. So I missed the call. So I keep on calling back the numbers that called me,” Grant recalled.

Eventually, the caller reached her again.

“They said, ‘This is Shaville Moodie mommy?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘Can you meet me at the hospital? Shaville has been in an accident.’”

Grant said she immediately left work in a panic.

“I hang up the phone and I run out of the people supermarket with the goods in my hand. [When I realised] I throw it down on the counter and run across the road and tell my supervisor that my daughter has been in an accident and I have to leave,” she said.

She rushed to the hospital by taxi and arrived before the vehicle transporting her daughter.

“When I saw her in the state where she was in, I break down. I really cried a lot,” Grant said.

Doctors treated Moodie for a head injury and multiple abrasions.

“She had a head injury where you can see her skull,” Grant said. “Her hands were rubbed out ... her fingers rub off at the knuckles. She was in a lot of pain.”

The mother said her daughter was also worried about missing her examinations while receiving treatment.

“She was talking how she’s going to miss her exam, and I keep on telling her, ‘You cannot focus on that right now,’” Grant said.

Moodie remains under medical care and must have her wounds dressed every other day. The stitches in her head have not yet been removed because of the depth of the wound.

She also complained of ongoing pain and numbness around the injured area.

“She keep on crying for some pain in her head, and around the wound it is numb,” the mother said.

Grant said the accident has forced her to take time off from work to care for her daughter.

“I have to take two weeks from work to take care of her,” she said.

HEARTLESS ACT

The rider, who was operating the ill-fated motorcycle, reportedly fled the scene, leaving bystanders and other motorists to assist her.

“How could a person be so heartless? He just hit a person’s child and just drive off. Not even with help to stop the blood,” Moodie said.

There were also early claims circulating that the rider had removed his shirt to help stop the bleeding. However, Moodie said she later learnt that the garment actually belonged to another motorist who stopped to help.

“Basically, they said it was not his shirt. It was a taxi driver’s shirt he gave to me,” she said.

Grant believes some people in the area may know the rider but are unwilling to come forward.

“I believe that they know the guy, but they just don’t want to talk, because they are misleading the police,” she said, noting that witnesses described varying physical features of the motorcyclist.

She also expressed frustration with the pace of the investigation.

“To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t say they are (being helpful), because with an incident like that with a child… I’m the one calling them, asking what’s going on,” Grant said.

The mother is now appealing for road users to exercise greater caution, particularly near schools.

“(The) speeding… they must be more (cautious) on the road, especially school zones, because of the kids…school is over so you have to be more careful when you’re driving or riding,” she said. “This can happen to anyone.”

Principal Dorrset Taylor said the school is aware of Moodie’s concerns about missing exams and will make arrangements for her to sit them once she has recovered.

“We are making arrangements,” Taylor told The Gleaner. “We have that part of us that we will look out for the children.”

However, she said the details have not yet been finalised.

“We have not yet made that arrangement, but we are going to be working on that,” Taylor said.

The principal also noted that the school has previously sought police assistance to manage traffic congestion near the institution, particularly during the afternoon dismissal period when the area becomes heavily crowded.

SAFETY CONCERNS

Taylor said the institution has also been reminding students about safety practices when leaving the school compound.

“We’re trying as much as possible to give our students safety guidelines for disembarking vehicles and (how to walk on the sidewalk) after dismissal,” she said, adding that the school has also communicated with the relevant authorities about the condition of the pedestrian crossing near the gate.

“There’s a pedestrian crossing out there, but it’s faded a little,” Taylor explained, noting that the school has raised the matter with the relevant authorities but has not yet received a response.

Additionally, after Hurricane Melissa, a school zone sign along the route from Grange Hill was damaged, adding to growing concerns about how safe the area around the school zone currently is.

Meanwhile, the incident has also renewed concerns about road safety near the institution, as a similar crash involving another Frome student occurred in 2023.

The student was hospitalised.

While details of that case remain unclear, the previous incident has been cited by school authorities as further evidence that stronger traffic control and enforcement is needed around the school, particularly during dismissal hours when the area becomes heavily congested with pedestrians and vehicles.

Despite this ordeal, Moodie said she is slowly coping with the trauma, saying that she feels emotionally “better” now, compared to immediately after the crash.

Still, she remains eager to recover and return to the classroom and the examinations she was preparing to sit before the accident disrupted her life.

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com