St. Mary crashes injure 10 as police investigate fatal St. Ann bike collision

Ten people were taken for treatment after two separate road crashes in St. Mary on Friday, as police in the parish opened investigations into both incidents.

The first collision happened about noon on the Rio Nuevo main road and involved a motor car and a truck. A woman and two children were hurt and transported to hospital. About 8:00 p.m., a vehicle travelling from Dover reportedly went out of control in Annotto Bay, struck Marking Stone Beach and crashed into an empty shop. Seven people, including the driver and students, were injured and taken to hospital.

In St. Ann, 19-year-old Leroy Daley, a labourer of Stepney district, died after two motorcycles collided on the Stepney main road on Saturday about 8:30 a.m. Police said Daley’s motorcycle collided with another travelling in the opposite direction. Both men were injured and the motorcycles were badly damaged. Daley was pronounced dead at hospital, while the other rider was warned for prosecution. The Alexandria police are investigating.

St. James carpenter Jordan Ricketts, 30, has been charged with fraudulent conversion after allegedly using US$10,000 entrusted to him between July and August 2024 by a relative. Police say the money was meant to be kept for the complainant and his wife to use during a Jamaica vacation, but when the relative returned in April 2026, Ricketts could not repay it. Investigators allege the funds were spent on personal expenses and a one-bedroom house in St. James. His court date has been finalised.

In Clarendon, 54-year-old Joseph Winter has been charged after allegedly breaking into a man’s home through a living-room window, attacking him with a stick during a dispute over zinc sheets, and causing him to lose several teeth. May Pen police say Winter also pointed a machete at the complainant before a neighbour intervened. His court date has been set.

Police Commissioner Dr. Kevin Blake has urged Jamaica Constabulary Force members to show restraint and professionalism following public anger over the police shooting death of Latoya Bulgin in Granville, St. James. The officers involved have been removed from frontline duties, and INDECOM is investigating.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness also said public support remains critical to reducing crime and rebuilding confidence in the JCF. In St. Andrew, Kingston Mayor Andrew Swaby appealed for calm in Mona Commons after Papine Market supervisor Colleen Bernard was fatally shot at the market on Friday.