11-year-old boy hospitalised after tree falls on him

An 11-year-old boy was injured today after a section of a tree fell on him in a tenement yard on John's Lane in Kingston.

The boy is now admitted at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in stable condition.

The incident occurred about 3:00 pm, and rendered impassable, a section of the lane, which runs parallel to East Street.

Residents said the child was playing on a scooter when a rotten branch broke free and fell, hitting him.

He was rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and later transferred to the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

"Me hear the tree a crack and a come down and me see him and a tell him 'move', but him nah move," said Leon, a shopkeeper, shaking his head as the ill-fated branch remained across the road.

Other residents recounted how the boy was hoisted into a car, as he drifted out of consciousness, and that it's driver, Omarro Tate, made a dash against one-way traffic on North Street to KPH.

"Full speed and me affi a watch di one way same time heading to 'Public', but me a fret pon the yute the whole time, cause one a di time him all unconscious," said Tate.

Last week Children's Advocate Diahann Gordon-Harrisson, and Head of the Constabulary Communication Unit, Assistant Superintendent Dahlia Garrick, urged parents to be more mindful of their children's safety during the summer period.

- Corey Robinson

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