Briefs - Driver held after fleeing deadly accident scene

A motorist who fled the scene of a deadly accident in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on Saturday morning was handed over to the police hours later.

Reports are that the motorist was driving along Main Street about 6:10 a.m., when he lost control of the white 2014 Toyota Mark X, which ran across the roadway, mounted the sidewalk and mowed down a pedestrian before slamming into a utility pole.

The dead woman was later identified as Claudette Thorpe of a Petersfield, St Mary, address.

The 27-year-old driver then fled the scene and was later handed over by relatives.

Up to press time, it remained unclear whether the driver, whose name was not released, had been charged.

Man with epilepsy believed to have drowned in St Catherine river

The police in St Catherine are investigating the suspected drowning of a 52-year-old man on Friday. 

Devon McDonald, unemployed, of Troja District, St Catherine, has been identified as the deceased.

According to police reports, McDonald, who suffered from epilepsy and a mental illness and had recently been discharged from hospital, reportedly went to the Rio D'Oro for a bath at approximately 5:05 p.m.,  a routine he was known to keep. 

He reportedly got into difficulties, fell into the river, and drowned. 

Passersby later saw him floating face-down in the water. 

The police were alerted and the body removed.

Third person charged in UTech student murder case

A third person has been charged in connection with the February murder of St Catherine security guard and engineering student Michael 'Bupsy' Patterson.

Melvin Chisholm has been charged with misprision of felony. 

The other accused are Barbara Gardener and Tevin Austin, who are faing charges of murder, conspiracy to murder, possession of a prohibited weapon, unauthorised possession of ammunition, using a firearm to commit a felony, robbery with aggravation, larceny of a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, and unauthorised access to computer data.

When the matter came up for mention in the St Catherine Parish Court on Friday, the three were remanded to reappear in the Corporate Area Gun Court on June 26.

Patterson was a third-year engineering student at the University of Technology, Jamaica. His decomposing body was discovered in a canal in Hartlands, St Catherine, on February 23, 2026.