News September 05 2026

Two Clarendon men among five killed in separate crashes across Jamaica

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  • A motorcycle that was involved in a crash along Swansea main road in Clarendon on Friday, September 4, 2026. A motorcycle that was involved in a crash along Swansea main road in Clarendon on Friday, September 4, 2026.
  • A motorcycle that was involved in a crash along Swansea main road in Clarendon on Friday, September 4, 2026. A motorcycle that was involved in a crash along Swansea main road in Clarendon on Friday, September 4, 2026.

Two Clarendon men were among five people killed in separate crashes across the island in the past 24 hours, according to the National Road Safety Council (NRSC).

The latest deaths have pushed the number of road fatalities for September to eight, and the year-to-date toll to 233, the NRSC said.

The deceased have been identified as 23-year-old Jevoy Wheatle, otherwise called ‘Pepe’, a labourer of Gravel Hill, Milk River, Clarendon, and 24-year-old Ackeem Thomas, a labourer of Race Course, Tollgate, Clarendon.

The police say the two were killed in a three-vehicle collision on the Swansea main road in the parish on Friday.

Reports from the Four Paths police are that about 8:45 p.m., Wheatle was driving a CG 250 Missile motorcycle west along the roadway, with Thomas as pillion, when he attempted to overtake another motorcycle travelling ahead.

Wheatle subsequently lost control of the motorcycle and collided with a Nissan Tiida travelling in the opposite direction.

Wheatle, Thomas and the driver of the other motorcycle sustained injuries and were taken to hospital, where Wheatle and Thomas succumbed to their injuries. The other motorcyclist remains hospitalised.

NRSC chairman Dr Lucien Jones has cited the latest deaths as "a sharp reminder of why the National Road Safety Council is so persistent in its call for all aspects of the safe systems approach to be rolled out in a timely fashion to prevent this kind of carnage on our roads."

He said the tragedies were caused mainly by “speeding, loss of control of the vehicle, failure to wear safety devices, and pedestrian error.”

Jones also offered condolences to the families affected and said the council remained vigilant as the new school year approaches, with increased traffic expected on the roads.

Police investigations are ongoing.

- Olivia Brown

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