Two children still hospitalised after being hit by falling boulders in St. Elizabeth

 

Two of the three children who were injured after being struck by boulders while walking to school in Merrywood, North West St. Elizabeth on Friday morning remain in hospital in serious condition. 

 

One of the children has been transferred to a hospital in Kingston while the other has been transferred to Mandeville Regional Hospital. 

 

The third child has been treated and released. 

 

The two girls and a boy were on their way to Merrywood Primary sShool when boulders fell from the side of a mountain in the Breadnut Walk area and struck them. The children were rushed to Black River Hospital by community members who had to carry them about a mile to the main road to get transportation.

 

Radio Jamaica News understands that one of the students suffered a fractured skull and was bleeding from the head, nose and the mouth.

 

"Mi by time mi reach mi see one man wid one likkle boy inna him hand, mi see another one wid him daughter.... a suh wi... head a bleed, nose, ears, 

 

A resident of Breadnut Walk in St. Elizabeth. 

 

The incident happened along a track commonly used by children and residents travelling between Breadnut Walk and Merrywood. The nearby 3.6-kilometre roadway is unusable by vehicles forcing pedestrians to use this shorter track. 

 

Residents say the road has been a problem for years, describing it as an unsafe particularly for children travelling to school. 

 

"Them have to [be] walking on the train line when this train line is not a school road. It's a line of JRC. For if the Jamaica [Railway] Corporation should send out something, all the children them can hear on the line, they may hear the iron rail creeping, creeping and cracking for them to know that something is coming on the line. And there is no one here working on the line for the line to keep it clean at all time. We need the road to be sorted out from Merrywood to Breadnut Walk," demanded Breadnut Walk resident Daisey Gordon, who said the road appeared to be on the brink of collapse. 

 

In the meantime, Councillor for the area, Clinton Samuels, has described the situation as traumatising. 

 

"I'm so devastated right now to know that these little minors reach in such a serious accident; really sorry for them and the parents as well. It traumatise the entire area, right around Mulgrave, Breadnut Walk, everybody's so concerned," he lamented.

 

The community is calling for the authorities to address the road situation.