Man killed by block

A father is questioning the circumstances that led to the death of his 20-year-old son, Romell Forbes, at a Manchester Avenue-based hardware in May Pen, Clarendon, on Wednesday.

Superintendent Christopher Philips, in charge of operations for the parish, said the incident was being treated as an accident pending further investigations.

In reporting what the police termed as death by misadventure, the Corporate Communications Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force said Forbes was reportedly cleaning a block-making machine when he was struck on the head by a part on the machine. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Lusan Forbes, father of the deceased, said he is yet to get details of the accident. He told THE WEEKEND STAR that his son, a past student of Central High School in the parish, was contracted to clear debris from the machine. He has been working at the hardware's factory since March.

The father of five said he received word of the incident from a relative who told him his son was taken to the nearby May Pen Hospital, a three-minute drive from the hardware.

Upon arrival at the hospital, he was greeted with gruesome tales surrounding the death of his first child.

"When me go down a hospital, them a say him neck bruck, him chest plate mash up and him head mash up and him a bleed through him ears and nose. Me need justice, it cyaa go suh. Me nuh have a dollar fi bury dead now," he said.

"Me hear say him enter the place fe clean the machine and when him fe move, him never move in time so the machine start up and him drop over in the machine. Right now we nuh know wah really happen," bemoaned Everton Burnett, uncle of the deceased, who described Romell as "a good youth" who was very hard-working.

Attempts to get a comment from the hardware's owner were futile up to press time yesterday.

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