JTA president-elect recuperating after Trelawny crash

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) is reporting that its president-elect, Dr Maureen Mullings-Nelson, and a senior teacher with whom she was travelling are now recuperating following last week’s motor vehicle crash, in which they both suffered broken legs.

In an update provided to The Gleaner on Monday, the JTA reported that Mullings-Nelson and her travelling companion, who were hospitalised after the accident shortly after 3:30 p.m. on October 1, were discharged over the weekend.

“We extend our prayers for them, and we hope that their recovery will be speedy, so as to ensure that they can return to their union duties and their professional duties as soon as possible,” the JTA outlined.

The association did not disclose the name of the person who was travelling with Mullings-Nelson or the person’s position within the JTA.

When contacted, Mullings-Nelson declined to publicly discuss the accident, saying the matter was still under investigation by the police.

At the time of the crash, Mullings-Nelson was a passenger in a burgundy Honda CR-V being driven by her colleague into Trelawny from Montego Bay, St James. They were leaving the JTA’s just-concluded campaign strategy retreat and central executive training session at SeaGarden Hotel in Montego Bay when the accident occurred.

According to reports, on reaching the Carey Park main road in the vicinity of the Duncans intersection, the vehicle collided with a white Honda CR-V travelling in the opposite direction.

Mullings-Nelson, her colleague and the other driver all sustained injuries in the crash and were assisted from their vehicles by the police and members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade. They were rushed to Falmouth Public Hospital for medical treatment.

The Duncans main road in Trelawny has been the site of several vehicular crashes over recent years. These include an incident in which four police personnel sustained injuries when their vehicle skidded and overturned along the roadway on February 7, 2024, and another in which six people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a grey Nissan AD wagon and a black Toyota Fielder on October 5, 2025.

Before those incidents, 24-year-old Roger Wilson of Hague, Trelawny, lost his life along the Spring Hill main road in Duncans on the night of October 6, 2022, when the black Toyota Mark X he was driving got out of control and collided with a truck. Wilson and his male passenger were rushed to hospital, where Wilson was pronounced dead and the other man was admitted.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com