Mon | Sep 16, 2024

UPDATE | Firefighter family devastated by another crash tragedy

Published:Saturday | September 7, 2024 | 12:18 PM
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Assistant Superintendent Garnett Douse and his adopted daughter, Shahine Nelson, at her fire brigade graduation in December 2022, just days after his son Larenzo was killed in a car crash while on duty. Nelson died in a crash on September 6, 2024. - File photo
The crash involved a 2007 blue and white International 800 truck and a 2018 grey Honda Fit motor car, that was being driven by the woman. -Contributed photo
Larenzo Douse 25, Nelson's brother, died after he was hit by a vehicle while on duty on November 30, 2022, in Ocho Rios, St Ann.He was 25 -Contributed photo
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The woman who died in a car crash in Spanish Town, St Catherine, on Friday night was a firefighter returning home after her shift at the Stony Hill station in St Andrew, the Jamaica Fire Brigade says 

"It's a tough loss," said Commissioner Stewart Beckford, of the death of Shahine Nelson, who joined the brigade in 2022, shortly after completing studies at St Catherine high school. 

He said: "Her time with us was brief but she was well-loved."

Nelson's mother is a civilian member of the brigade.

Her adopted father is also a firefighter, Assistant Superintendent Garnett Douse. 

Douse's son Larenzo, who served the brigade for six years, died after he was hit by a vehicle while on duty on November 30, 2022, in Ocho Rios, St Ann. He was 25.

READ MORE: Firefighting family devastated by crash tragedy

Nelson, who was 21 at the time, joined the brigade a few weeks later. 

Douse is "devastated" by the incident, the fire chief said, noting that counselling teams have been mobilised for Nelson's family and colleagues. 

Nelson was killed in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Brunswick Avenue and Angels Toll Plaza Road in Spanish Town, around 9:30 p.m. a preliminary police report said, which said she was 19. 

The report said a 2007 blue and white International 800 truck collided with the front of a 2018 grey Honda Fit, that Nelson was driving. 

The truck, travelling north on Brunswick Avenue, was turning right onto Angels Toll Plaza Road when its rear wheels struck the car, fatally injuring Nelson. 

Commissioner Beckford said it has been an difficult last few weeks for the brigade. He pointed the August stabbing-murder of firefighter Shamere Myrie, 33, while on vacation in the United States. 

He said Myrie's body arrived in Jamaica on Thursday and plans for the funeral are advancing. 

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