‘Justice for my son’ - St Ann mom angry as 10-y-o hit by bus, dies
Published:Friday | October 18, 2019 | 12:28 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
The mother of a 10-year-old boy who succumbed to injuries sustained in a bus crash in Lime Hall, St Ann, on Monday afternoon is demanding justice for the death of her son, while accusing the police of being unprofessional in their investigations.
Deandra Ridley, mother of Colin Lloyd Jr, a grade five student of Lime Hall Primary School, said her son was hit by a bus while he was standing on embankment after a taxi had stopped to let him cross the road.
Ridley said her son died at the Bustamante Hospital for Children on Wednesday afternoon after being transferred there from the St Ann’s Bay Hospital.
TAKING SIDES
To compound the issue, Ridley is alleging that the policeman assigned to investigate the case was exhibiting improper conduct.
“It’s like he is taking sides. The police officer was saying that I should accept that the child is dead and it wasn’t the driver’s fault,” Ridley is alleging.
After complaining to Senior Superintendent of Police Calvin Small, commander of St Ann, a different officer has been assigned to the case, she disclosed.
Efforts to reach Small on Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.
“He was coming from school. He was at the bus stop with some other kids and a car stopped and allowed him to cross,” Ridley told The Gleaner. “He already crossed and a bus man overtake another vehicle and come and just hit him on the banking.”
Ridley said doctors at Bustamante Hospital told her the child’s organs had been severely damaged. She said he did not suffer any broken bones but died from internal injuries.
“The last thing he said to me was, ‘Mommy, I want to doo-doo (defecate),’” she said as she broke down in tears.
“He started struggling to breathe. He started fighting them because no oxygen was going to the brain, so he started getting agitated and started fighting. When they turned him on his side, that’s when he start bringing up blood, and then my son’s heart stopped.”
Ridley said the courts need to teach the driver a lesson.
“He knows it’s a school zone, and regardless, he’s supposed to be taking his time driving. I just need justice and closure for my son,” Ridley said.