KINGSTON, Jamaica – Two weeks ago, Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) private Jermaine Rose came face to face with death.

On November 25, he was badly injured in a hit-and-run while on duty at the Greenwood checkpoint in the Montego Bay area of St James. The incident left him with two broken legs, among other injuries, resulting in him being bedridden since that time. 

The driver who mowed down the young soldier remains at large as police are continuing their investigations. 

Speaking with OBSERVER ONLINE from his bed at the JDF’s Up Park Camp headquarters in St Andrew, the 29-year-old recalled that on the night of the tragedy, gunshots were heard while he and his colleagues were on duty sometime after midnight. Based on those sounds, the soldiers made the decision to check the vehicles that were passing.

“Around 12:30 [am], there about, we saw four cars approaching the checkpoint and we tried to slow them down, and they stopped for a second and then dem tek time approach the checkpoint… and then they were driving cross and cross in the road,” recounted the Tower Hill, St Andrew resident.

“They (the cars) tried to hit down one of my colleagues first, and he jumped out the road, and just as I was about to jump [out of the road], a car hit me and broke my two feet and dislocate my right hand,” he said. 

According to Rose, the impact of the vehicle on his body resulted in him being flung in the air and landing on the sidewalk. The car did not stop.

While lying on the sidewalk, he said another car grazed him as it passed. None of the vehicles stopped. In that moment, Rose said he felt a lot of pain. 

“What shock mi is when they (my colleagues) take mi up and I see my foot a dangle, ’cause the right foot, di ankle bruck right off… They had to cut off the uniform off a mi legs because of the pain I was going through,” Rose, who was still obviously in pain, told OBSERVER ONLINE.

Asked whether he was fearful of dying at that point, the soldier responded: “At times, but I have my [two-month old] son and I use him as a motivation.” 

Rose was transported to the Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny where he said he spent a week undergoing several medical procedures and X-rays, as the left side of his hip was broken as well as his left leg an right ankle which has since been pinned to hold it in place.

“I did X-Rays about five times and they (the doctors) straightened the right leg… and I will have to do [another] surgery to straighten the left leg,” he explained, adding that he is unable to move physically. 

Rose was eventually transferred to Up Park Camp in St Andrew where he remains to receive further care and treatment. He is also receiving the assistance and support of family members and friends.

In relation to his future in the JDF, Rose remains hopeful.

“They (the doctors) will have to do a lot of therapy,” the soldier said, with the pain evident in his voice as he spoke. 

Meanwhile, he described as “unfortunate” not being able to identify who was driving the vehicle that hit him that night. To that end, he is calling on anyone who would have any information in that regard to share with the police.