Six-year-old Dakari Edwin is back at home in good spirits and recovering after being involved in a collision with a car on Monday afternoon along President Kennedy drive, St Michael.
The Westbury Primary School pupil was discharged from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital yesterday, and wasted no time enjoying a brief game of football with his siblings.
His mother Natasha Martindale said he was still experiencing some pain in the head, back and legs, and also had challenges keeping down food and liquid initially, though he is now eating comfortably.
She expressed relief that her son did not sustain worse injuries.
“It was nerve-racking. A young lady that knows me and my kids well, she . . . rode and came to the house and tell my granddad. I was actually in preparation to cook him some food when they got home. So, I had to shut off the stove and everything and just head out,” she recalled.
Martindale, who said she could not stomach seeing video footage of her son’s accident, made it clear that he usually makes his way home with his older brother but instead walked the path alone that day.
“He has two other siblings that go to Westbury as well but the little ones just get dismissed before the bigger ones and on some evenings, he will come home by himself.
“That was not a fortunate evening. We have things in place so that if I’m not able to, then my dad or my friend will pick up everybody and bring them home,” she added.
The mother said she was aware of public criticism but that her focus remained on helping her son recover. However, she stressed that she has always taught her children to be wary when crossing the road.
“I have always taught them and he knows the left and right, up and down. In our gap alone, even as adults, we’ve got to be careful because it’s like Bushy Park right there so he knows, but we’ve got things for him in place when he goes back to school,” she said.
Still unaware
Dakari is still unaware of exactly what happened to him. Since the collision, he has asked his mother several times about the origin of the scars and cuts on his face.
“He was talking to me this morning and he noticed the cut drying on his face and he asked: ‘Mummy, how did I get this?’ So I told him it’s probably from the accident, when the car hit him,” she said.
On the day of the collision, scores of bystanders converged on the scene, lending assistance to the boy, a helping hand for which his mother was grateful.
“From what I understood, a lot of the youngsters in the area were the ones who actually helped support his neck and made sure that he was stable enough and responsive for when the ambulance came. So I just want to give a very warm, and from my heart, a thank-you to everyone who assisted with the accident of my son,” she said.
Yesterday, parliamentary representative for St Michael West Chris Gibbs visited the home, having maintained contact with Martindale since news broke of Dakari’s accident.
Gibbs told the DAILY NATION he would lobby for the installation of additional crosswalks along President Kennedy Drive.
He said while two crosswalks are in the area, many of the children from Westbury Primary travel along an alternate route away from those crossings.
“There are two crosswalks that currently exist on President Kennedy Drive, one below by the lights at Westbury and then one above by St Leonard’s Boys’ School. But a lot of the kids from Westbury Primary take a little shortcut through St Leonard’s graveyard, come through the neighbourhood and come over into the Richmond area.
“So, there needs to be some sort of signage crosswalk for the middle. I already had a discussion with the chief technical officer of MTW (Ministry of Transport and Works)and we’re starting to look at solutions along with the police.” (JRN)
