Jamaica police probe deadly Clarendon motorcycle crash and serious truck wreck on Spur Tree

Jamaican police are investigating several incidents across the island, including a Manchester truck crash that left one man critically hurt, a fatal motorcycle collision in Clarendon, and criminal cases in St Catherine, Portland and St James.

In Manchester, two men were taken to hospital after a truck carrying rice overturned on the Spur Tree main road on Saturday. Police reports indicate the vehicle went out of control shortly after 4 p.m., left the roadway, entered a property and overturned. A passenger lost his right arm and was listed in critical condition, while the driver was also admitted. The road connects Mandeville with St Elizabeth and western Jamaica, and heavy trucks have long been a concern on the steep hill.

In Clarendon, 22-year-old welder Kevin Baker of Favana Heights died after his Zamco 200 motorcycle hit a police service vehicle about 2:10 a.m. Saturday along Avenue in Denbigh. Police said a female pillion passenger, aged 20, was seriously injured, and neither occupant was reportedly wearing a helmet. The police vehicle, a 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, was being used for stop-and-search duties. The Area 3 Accident Reconstruction Unit processed the scene, while the May Pen Traffic Department is investigating.

In Portmore, St Catherine, a 59-year-old man has been charged after police allegedly found a 12-year-old girl in a compromising situation inside a Toyota Wish on Port Henderson Road about 8:30 p.m. Thursday. His name was withheld to protect the complainant. Police said the allegations include forcible abduction, sexual grooming and sexual touching of a child.

In Portland, a 78-year-old licensed firearm holder was charged after an alleged May 23 confrontation in which police say he threatened a man and pressed his licensed firearm against the man’s side. Separately, in St James, a man convicted in 2014 on cocaine-related charges told the court he would serve prison time because he could not pay a $1.8 million pecuniary penalty order. The case returns on June 29.