Driver detained after ploughing through pedestrians; child dead, mother in a coma

A family is in turmoil. Three-year-old Jadianne Spencer died after being hit in a traffic accident in Johnson Point on Monday.
The toddler, her mother, Honora Thomas, 29, and the child’s aunt, Carol Richards, 29, were walking on the side
of the road, at about 4 pm, when a white Toyota Corolla, driven by Regino Nicholas of Cades Bay, ploughed into them.
The three were rushed to Mount St John’s Medical Centre where the toddler died from injuries to her upper body.
The child’s great-uncle, police department public relations officer Inspector Frankie Thomas, said Honora is in a medically induced coma in the Intensive Care Unit with broken legs, pelvis and shoulder.
He said his family is still struggling to come to terms with the news of Spencer’s death and described the toddler as a blessing to the family.
“How do you tell her mother that her only child, the little girl that she loves so much, the one person she is closest to, that her baby girl is gone? As a police officer,
I see and know of these things happening but never did I think it would be us, that it would be that precious child,” the grieving officer told OBSERVER media.
He also said that one of Thomas’ legs is broken in several places.
“We are really hoping for the best and, of course, prayers of the people would help bring us through. The families on both sides are coping, and we are trying to be strong for each other,” Thomas said.
“We are keeping faith alive that she pulls through, and we can be there for her when the time comes to share the sad
news.”
Richards, the other relative injured in the deadly crash, reportedly suffered a laceration to her head and a broken left leg.
The medical team is working with the family to decide when it is safe to inform the mother of her daughter’s death.
Thomas does not have access to social media or other news sources.
OBSERVER media tried without success to contact, Sylvester Spencer, the toddler’s father.
At press time, 20-year-old Nicholas had not been charged with any offence.
According to police, Nicholas claims that he was travelling southbound in Johnson’s Point near the public clinic, at approximately 3:50 pm, when his vehicle dropped into a pothole, causing his steering wheel to lock. The car then
veered, he said, into the pedestrians on the same side of the road.
By Tameika Malone
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