A woman, two minors, and a teenager were all killed in a devastating motor vehicle crash on Saturday when they collided with a utility truck. The group was returning home from a beach trip when the incident occurred near the St Elizabeth and Westmoreland border.
Police have since identified the victims; the first two are a mother, 30-year-old Jeneen Dawkins, and her 10-year-old daughter, Antwasia Glenziler. The other two victims are sisters, 12-year-old Janneilia Dunkley and 17-year-old Jonnessa Dunkley, who live near Dawkins in the Brighton district, Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth.
Reports say the mother and daughter, along with their neighbours, visited a beach in Bluefields, Westmoreland. While returning to St Elizabeth in their Toyota Voxy motor vehicle, they crashed on the Crawford to Front Hill main road.
The group collided with a Freightliner M2 106 truck, which was travelling in the opposite direction, around 5:27 p.m., according to a police report. Dawkins was driving the Toyota Voxy, and a Canadian utility worker was operating the truck.
When emergency responders arrived at the scene, they removed the mother and three girls from the wreckage and transported them to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead. The Canadian truck operator walked away from the collision unscathed.
The crash was described as “horrific news” by the vice chairman at the National Road Safety Council, Dr Lucien Jones, who spoke to reporters via audio release on Sunday. He said, based on his understanding, a news report indicated that Dawkins swerved her vehicle to avoid a pothole and subsequently collided with the oncoming truck.
He noted that the police report does not confirm this, only stating that the driver was in the wrong lane. Police findings also pointed to unsafe speed, alongside concerns about road conditions, as possible factors that contributed to the crash, according to Jones. He emphasised that the matter is still under investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Highlighting the severity of the crash, he questioned whether unsafe driving, lack of seatbelt use, or vehicle safety failures contributed to the tragedy. According to Jones, the tragedy brings the death toll for road fatalities to 11 as of early Sunday morning. Last year, Jamaica recorded 10 fatalities during the same period. Jones, a long-time advocate for road safety, has renewed his call for a safe systems approach on the nation’s roads, highlighting five key areas: safe roads, safe speeds, safe vehicles, safe road users, and post-crash care.
He again urged effective use of the demerit point system under the Road Traffic Act. “2026 is going to be filled with more disasters,” he warned, stressing urgent action. “Our children’s lives are at stake. The lives of the adults are at stake…” In 2025, Jamaica’s road fatalities hit 374.
