Family devastated after truck crushes 25-y-o in Trelawny

WESTERN BUREAU:

Damoy Wright’s family is devastated following the tragic incident last Friday in Cotton Tree, Trelawny, in which a loaded truck fell on to the motor car he was driving, killing him.

The Ulster Spring police say the incident occurred around 2 p.m., when the driver of the truck, which was laden with chicken feed and heading towards Albert Town, allegedly lost control of the unit.

Wright, 25, was trapped under the wreckage for around three hours.

When The Gleaner visited the home shared by Wright and his grandmother on Monday, the family wept openly as they reflected on the young life tragically cut short.

Wright, who relatives affectionately called by his middle name, Rajay, died leaving a twin brother and a young brother.

He was a devout Christian, who attended the Stettin New Testament Church of God and played the bass guitar.

Patricia Ricketts, the deceased’s aunt, explained that Wright used her car for a quick journey to Albert Town to purchase packs of small bags for the family-run shop. She stated that this was a routine trip since Wright was essential to the operation of their business.

“We were supposed to pack some things in the shop and he forgot to buy some bags. He took the car key from my husband and said he soon come. He said to me, ‘Aunty, which one of the bags? Is it the five-pound bag?’ I told him, ‘Yes, the five-pound bags’, and asked him buy some other bags because we had peas to tie out. That was it.”

A shocking phone call later plunged the family mourning into mourning.

“We were there waiting. Even his younger brother was saying, “A weh this ya man deh suh long?’ My husband said that he is probably buying food before he comes back because if he goes to Albert Town and he’s hungry, he’s going to go buy food,” Ricketts recalled.

“We were waiting on him, only to get the call that they saw a car out by Cotton Tree that looked like my husband’s car. We knew that it was him who drove it. My nephew just went and he didn’t return. They just took him from me. They took him from me,” Ricketts said between sobs.

Cleopatra Scott, the deceased’s cousin, told The Gleaner that his death had left her frightened.

Scott was among several Albert Town residents who went to the scene on Friday afternoon.

“I felt like not only my heart shattered, but my entire body shattered. How do you go to buy poly bags and not return home? It’s not possible. How do you go to buy poly bags and a truck turn over on you? A loaded truck with poultry feeding. He was not being careless. My cousin wasn’t an idle jester. He pulled right off the road. He was on the [soft] shoulder. He heard the truck and pulled over,” she wailed.

The grieving relatives remember Wright as a youngster who touched many lives with his loving heart and kind actions, calling him a Jack of all trades.

Ricketts explained that Wright studied at the HEART College of Construction Services in Portmore, St Catherine, following his stint at the Albert Town High School.

“He did construction and cabinet building. He’s the one who did everything at the shop. He’s He did the shelves, the counters, and everything else. He had dreams for a better life for him and us because as I said, he was kind. He wasn’t a selfish man,” he said.

The tragic incident is being investigated by the Wait-A-Bit police.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com