Sasha-Gay Lobban
A typical day of playing in the yard suddenly turned tragic after two children drowned in an incomplete pit at their home in Minard Hill, Brown’s Town, St Ann on Friday, January 30.Dead are 11-year-old Dana Lawrence and her brother, six-year-old Jason Parke of Minard Hill. Dana Lawrence attended the Edge Hill School of Special Education while Jason was enrolled at the Servite Primary School, both in Brown’s Town. The two reportedly drowned after they were playing and swinging on a horizontal metal pipe, close to the pit, on which they lost their grip and fell.The children’s mother, 28-year-old Latoya Buchanan, also called Melissa, has been left distraught and traumatized by the incident. The mother of five who is a vendor in Brown’s Town said she left the home to conduct some business in the town. Ms Buchanan said she left the children in the care of her mother and grandmother which was the usual thing to do. An hour later, she received a devastating phone call saying two of her children drowned. “Mi just lef to go sell some things and run some errands in town and mi not even did gone fi an hour. Mi just get a call say the pikney dem did a play and drop in the pit. Mi nuh eat from it happen,” Ms Buchanan said Saturday.The children’s grandmother Hyacinth Ray known to many as Ms Bloss, said she had been keeping a watchful eye on the children all morning on Friday. She said it was typical for her grandchildren to play in the yard. “They were at the front of the yard playing and the next thing mi hear one of mi other grandchildren run come tell me that the little boy drop in the pit and dem can’t see him,” she said. The girl reportedly jumped into the pit filled with water in an attempt to save her brother.Ms Ray told the Times that she did not know the children had gone to play at the back of the house. “Mi think it was a joke but when mi run go roun’ there, mi see mi nephew jump in there and try to take them out,” Ms Ray said. Her nephew, who did not wish to talk to the North Coast Times, reportedly pulled the children from the pit and tried to revive them. Ms Ray said her nephew is most affected by the children’s death because he was the one who fished their lifeless bodies from the pit.
DANGEROUS PIT
The pit, which is uncovered, is located between two of three houses in the yard where the family lived. A pipe made of iron runs across the pit which has been dug for some time. The family says the hole was dug to extract marl several years ago and was covered using strips of board. They say however that about three years ago, the pieces of board rotted and had to be removed to prevent persons from walking on them and falling in.They say though the board had been removed, the pit has not been covered. The children were allegedly playing and holding on to the iron pipe and lost their grip. The pit is more than eight feet deep and when it rains, it fills to the top.When the children reportedly fell, the rain had just stopped and the hole contained water more than six feet deep. The pit also contained a lot of debris and grass shooting out around the sides.The children’s great grandmother, Sylvia Anderson, who was also at the home at the time of the incident, said she warned the children not to play around the pit. Ms Anderson told the Times that she is terrified at what happened. Perhaps because of a hearing impediment, she did not hear any screams or cry for help. The pit is also a few inches away from her doorway. “Mi tell dem fi stop the playing but dem rude and stubborn. Dem nuh hear and look how dem guh drop inna di pit and dead,” said Ms Anderson, who was very upset. According to her, the children disobeyed her instructions and kept on playing even though she warned them not to play around the pit.
BRIGHTEST IN THE FAMILY
The boy, Jason Parke the family said was very promising and wanted to become a policeman. Even at age six, the family said little Jason knew what he wanted to become. His mother said he did very well at school and was the brightest in the family. “Jason bright and mi mek sure mi send him go school every morning. Is only because the rain a fall mek him never go school yesterday (Friday). Cause a me bring dem go school every morning,” Ms Buchanan said. According to her, he was very intelligent and she was depending on him to do well at school and hopefully take the family out of poverty one day through education. “Him very bright and him sister did a little slow but mi try with her at the special education school.” Her eldest child is 14 while the youngest is about one-year-old. Four of her children lived at home with her.
