Father loses second son in deadly crash

The cries echoed through a small furniture shop in Seaview Gardens, St Andrew as Kenneth Reece stared at a photograph of his son, Damion ‘Jah Jah’ Reece, and pleaded for an answer he knew would never come.

“Jah Jah, answer mi nuh please,” the heartbroken father wailed, overcome with emotion as he struggled to accept the sudden loss of the son who, just days ago, was a daily presence at his side.

Thirty-nine-year-old Jah Jah, a delivery man, was killed in a motor vehicle crash in Manchester early Monday morning.

According to police reports, about 5 a.m., the driver of a Toyota Hiace minibus in which Jah Jah was travelling lost control of the vehicle along the Porus main road, causing it to overturn. Both men were taken to hospital, where Jah Jah was pronounced dead.

For the elderly Reece, the tragedy remains almost impossible to comprehend.

Seated inside his business place on Thursday, the elderly man said the last time he saw his son was shortly after 3 a.m., just two hours before the fatal crash.

“A my youngest child. A we two did live together. Monday morning him push open mi room door and seh, ‘Daddy, mi ago turn on the light likkle bit.’ Him find weh him a look and tell mi later. Dat a di last time mi see mi son alive,” Reece recalled through tears.

“Normally, by midday Jah Jah would come back home and him would deh right here by mi foot. All now mi son nuh come home.”

Jah Jah and the driver had left home to make deliveries in sections of Manchester.

A short while later, troubling reports began reaching family members.

“Before six o’clock, somebody come wake up mi and tell wi seh one a di Nutrition Products vehicle crash. Dem ask if wi recognise di licence plate and mi other son seh yes. Same time wi hear seh di driver injured and di passenger dead, but mi did think a Damion did a drive because sometime him drive too,” Reece said.

Clinging to hope, relatives rushed to the hospital believing he had survived with injuries.

Instead, they were confronted with every parent’s nightmare.

“Mi a think seh him maybe bruk foot or bruk hand. Even when wi reach hospital, death never cross mi mind. But instead of going back into di hospital, a di morgue wi end up go,” he said, his voice cracking.

“Mi see mi son stretch out pon a table with sheet wrap round him.”

Based on data supplied by the Island Traffic Authority, Jamaica has recorded 222 fatal crashes, resulting in the loss of 257 lives as of October 1. This represents a 13 per cent reduction when compared to the corresponding period in 2025.

The statistics, however, are of no value to Reece and his family, as the loss of Jah Jah has left a devastating void.

Friends and relatives describe Jah Jah as hardworking, dependable and deeply devoted to his family. His father said he could fix almost anything and was always willing to lend a hand around the home.

“Mi love all a mi children dem, and Jah Jah never lef mi out. Sometimes wi would argue but, by di time wi reach home wi good again. Him could do anything. Anything bruk, him fix it,” Reece said.

The latest tragedy has also reopened old wounds.

Hanging inside the shop are reminders of previous heartbreak, including funeral programmes and a photograph of another son, Michael, who was killed in a traffic crash in 2018.

Reece said he has barely recovered from that loss.

“A nuff mi go through eno. In 2018, mi big son Michael get lick off him bicycle and dead. Before mi could get over dat, COVID come and mi wife and mi catch it. Mi come back from hospital, but she never make it. Now Jah Jah gone too,” he said as tears streamed down his face.