Attorney freed after St. Catherine court outburst as NRSC urges action on Trelawny crash deaths

Attorney Denise Walker was released with a warning on Friday, July 17, 2026, after Acting Senior Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson-Gail ordered her taken into custody over disruptive conduct in the St. Catherine Parish Court.

The judge had cautioned that Walker’s behaviour bordered on contempt. The dispute began when Walker objected to a mediation settlement involving her client, arguing the complainant was absent and the case was between siblings. She pressed for the complainant to be called so the matter could be dealt with immediately.

After being told to leave, Walker returned and said, "I am paid to represent him." Police then restrained her, brought her back into court, and took her to the holding cells. Once freed, she apologised; colleagues thanked the judge for the decision.

Separately, National Road Safety Council chairman Dr Lucian Jones renewed calls for urgent action after a Friday morning crash at B Gate in Falmouth, Trelawny, killed seven people and left others seriously hurt. A mini-bus and a motor truck collided shortly after 8 a.m. Police first reported six dead and two badly injured; one more person later died in hospital. Among the dead identified so far is 23-year-old Theodor Hudson of Tower Hill. Falmouth firefighters freed victims trapped in the wreckage.

Jones said the crash came days after a mid-year assessment that flagged a sharp rise in road deaths since June. He urged a national mobilisation on road safety, swift rollout of outstanding Road Traffic Act measures, and offered condolences while saying police continue to investigate.

Opposition land and works spokesman Luton Cousins, meanwhile, rejected Transport Minister Daryl Vaz’s suggestion that the toll adjustment framework stems from the previous PNP government. Cousins said the North–South Highway principal agreements were negotiated under the JLP in 2011, including a May 27, 2011 framework agreement, a November 16, 2011 implementation agreement, a January 13, 2013 MOU with China Harbour Engineering Company, and a June 2012 restated agreement within that earlier structure.

He also demanded transparency on the planned Mammee Bay toll plaza expansion—who funds it, whether it is a grantor variation, and how any public spending serves motorists—warning that accountability cannot be optional when tolls and taxpayers’ money are at stake.