Spanish Town families mourn three men killed in Trelawny crash

Families on John's Road in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, are mourning the deaths of three men killed in Friday's two-vehicle collision near Bog Gate, Trelawny, that claimed seven lives.

The men were travelling in a Toyota Hiace minibus that collided with a motor truck. Relatives say the tragedy has left them sleepless and without appetite as they try to absorb the loss of men neighbours described as pillars of the community.

The three left home sometime after 4 a.m. for jobs at a company where relatives say they mainly did deliveries. Co-workers treated them like family, and they joked freely with one another. Only the truck driver survived the crash; he remains in serious condition at Falmouth Hospital.

Those who died from John's Road were Anthony "Tony" Rose, 65; Marlon "Bala" Thompson, 49; and Marcos "Brownman" Campbell, 30.

Neighbours and kin painted the men as generous and well liked. One relative said the whole community was shaken and people could not stop crying. Another, who usually cooked, said she had not gone near the fireside since Friday. A mother recalled pleading with God to spare her son so she could continue caring for him.

One relative remembered telling Campbell that God go with him before he left, then sitting stunned after the crash, wanting to cry without knowing how. His mother said he left her house that night to join others for work and told her, "Mommy I love you," promising to work so she could stop paying rent and own a home. She said it was also the first time he told his sister he loved her.

Recording artist Sammy Cruz, known as Papa San, remembered Campbell as a thoughtful young man with sharp reasoning. Despite their age difference, he said they were especially close, and he recalled answering a birthday text from Campbell on the day he died. Papa San said a second friend of his had now died on his birthday, leaving him too grief-stricken to mark the day.

Relatives say they are now pressing loved ones to take extra care on the road and urging all motorists to slow down.