August Town community livid after resident mowed down by JDF vehicle

 

Residents of August Town, St. Andrew are appealing for the intervention of the Jamaica Defence Force and the police after a young man from the community was mowed down by a JDF service vehicle on Barrett Drive on Thursday afternoon.

 

The man was taken to hospital by the police.

 

His condition is not known at this time.

 

Businessman Marcus Risden told Radio Jamaica News that residents are upset about Thursday's incident as they have been warning soldiers against speeding through the community, which is a Zone of Special Operations. 

 

"It’s a regular thing for them on a daily basis to rip speed come down the road. They don’t care. Yesterday before the incident took place, the driver was moving at crazy speed come down and I shout to the driver. I didn’t even care. I said 'Soljie, Soljie! Unuh need to stop drive suh inna di community. Unuh aguh kill somebody!' That was the same vehicle that hit the boy enuh," Mr. Risden lamented. 

 

"I was shouting that to them...and the soldier guy mek di turn and lost control of the jeep, and the jeep ride the banking side, hit the guy off the banking side and run over him." 

 

Mr. Risden complained that the injured man had to wait about half an hour before being transported to the hospital.

                         

He also claimed that, generally, soldiers have taken a heavy-handed approach in their interactions with residents of August Town.

 

"They are behaving real bad in the community. They are abusing the citizens of the community. And I spoke with one of the police in high rank down by the police station and they say that they have numerous amount of complaints," the businessman alleged.