Neville Paul, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
ST. ELIZABETH Technical High School (STETHS) students and staff were in mourning yesterday following the deaths of two students in a motor vehicle accident along the Montpelier main road in the parish.
The two have been identified as Roberto Foster, 16, and Reneto Thomas, 14, both of the Montpelier Housing Development in St. Elizabeth.
The teenagers, who were in grades 10 and 11, respectively, sustained multiple injuries while they were awaiting transportation to go to school.
They were hit by a Honda motor car driven by 34-year-old supermarket manager, John Lewis of Spaldings, Clarendon. He has since been charged with two counts of manslaughter. Mr. Lewis' vehicle was heading towards the Junction branch of the SuperPlus food chain.
When The Gleaner visited STETHS, several tudents were seen crying, obviously still in shock over the deaths.
COUNSELLING FOR STUDENTS
The dead students were described as having been "quiet and cheerful," according to principal Dorothy Samuda. "The two were only in their first year at the school after being transferred from other institutions in September," she told The Gleaner. "Since their arrival, the boys had (adjusted) in all areas of school life."
Two guidance counsellors employed to the school have already started to counsel students and teachers, the principal said. "We are now awaiting the Ministry of Education Regional Office to send in other guidance counsellors to assist with counselling."
Police reports are that at about 7:30 a.m., the two students were standing on the side of the roadway, which forms the border of St. Elizabeth and Manchester.
The students were thrown more than 100 yards away from the point of impact, according to reports. The driver of the car left the scene but later turned himself in to the Nain police.
Sergeant Ian Lawrence of the Santa Cruz Police Traffic Department told The Gleaner that "excessive speeding" was the cause of the accident.
Foster and Thomas' classmates said their friends would be greatly missed. They also commented that both students had been very helpful, kind and were always willing to lend a hand.
When the news team visited Montpelier, they were informed that one of the mothers of the dead students fainted with shock and that both had required medical attention.
The police say that they will be closely monitoring the Montpelier road, which they suspect is used by motorists to carry out illegal drag racing at nights.
