St. Elizabeth road deaths, Manchester gun seizure and innovation concerns lead Jamaica news roundup

Police in St. Elizabeth are investigating two fatal crashes reported within 24 hours, including a Saturday night three-vehicle collision on Content Main Road near Santa Cruz that killed 59-year-old Llewellyn Johnson of Prospect district, New Balbeck, Manchester.

Investigators said Johnson was driving a Toyota Corolla in the opposite direction from a westbound Kinglong coach bus and Toyota Tundra about 9:00 p.m. when the Tundra moved right while overtaking and entered the Corolla's path. After impact, the Corolla reportedly struck the bus, and Johnson was thrown from the vehicle. He died at hospital.

Earlier Saturday, five-month-old Camaral Forbes died after a crash on Peppermint Road, St. Elizabeth. Police said the baby was among four people in a Toyota Voxy that turned into the path of a Nissan pickup about 10:30 a.m.; the Nissan then hit a Ford pickup. The injured were taken to Mandeville Regional Hospital, where the child was pronounced dead and his mother was admitted in critical condition.

In Manchester, police said an unidentified dreadlocked man was found in bushes in Richmond about 7:00 a.m. Saturday with a wound to the neck. His body was removed for a post-mortem. Separately, a man was detained Sunday after police said a 9mm pistol and 19 rounds were found during an intelligence-led search at a house in Plowden, South Manchester.

US immigration authorities also said Jamaican national Messiah Omar Wright, also known as Kevin Foster, is to be deported again after being detained at a federal prison in New York on May 22. Officials said he first entered the United States as a stowaway in Miami in 1995, was ordered removed in 1997, later served 192 months for murder in Minnesota linked to drug trafficking, and was deported to Jamaica in 2013 before re-entering illegally.

In Clarendon, 21-year-old Anthony Edwards, also called The Sha, was granted $1 million bail on Friday on a murder charge in the stabbing death of his cousin, 38-year-old O'Neal White, in Mocho. His lawyer argued self-defence. Edwards must relocate from Clarendon, surrender travel documents, avoid witnesses and return to court on September 11.

In Parliament, Opposition spokesman Christopher Brown said Jamaica is slipping on key innovation measures, citing a fall from 72nd in 2020 to 83rd in 2025 on the Global Innovation Index, weak patent filings and high brain drain. He urged stronger policy on cultural intellectual property, AI governance and digital rights.