Father, teen daughter die in crash at Mandela Ave roundabout

…12-year-old son hospitalised

A family has been left shattered after a tragic accident along the Mandela Highway on Thursday morning claimed the lives of a father and his 15-year-old daughter.
Dead are Kenneth Johnson and his daughter Kelly Johnson, while his 12-year-old son Kelroy Johnson, who managed to escape the vehicle, remains hospitalised in critical condition.

Reports indicate that Johnson A Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was driving the motor car, PAL 2882, west along Aubrey Barker Road at a high rate of speed at about 01:50h when he lost control and crashed near the Mandela roundabout. Police on Thursday said that the vehicle collided with the concrete median and overturned several times before coming to a stop on the western parapet of the Nelson Mandela to Eccles Inter-Link Road. As a result of the collision, the driver and the front-seat passenger sustained injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor, while the 12-year-old was rescued from the vehicle and transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
Speaking with this publication, the grieving mother, Claudia Kendell, recalled that Johnson, a weed cutter and taxi driver, often took their children out for food or late-night drives, a routine family moment she never imagined would end in tragedy.
“Well, my husband does taxi work, and he also does other odd jobs. Sometimes when people called him at night, he would take the children with him, and they would go out. Or sometimes he would just wake them up and ask if they wanted to go for a drive or for food.”
The mother said that after hours passed without seeing her husband, son, and daughter return home, she became concerned and attempted to contact him by telephone, but the calls went straight to voicemail. A few moments later, she received a call informing her that her husband and daughter had been involved in an accident and were both deceased.
“After I didn’t see them home, I kept calling for Kelroy, and I thought maybe both of them were gone. Around 6:30 or 7 o’clock, I knew something was wrong, so I decided to call him. When I called, a woman answered and explained what had happened.”
A relative of the deceased also refuted claims circulating online that bottles found in the car suggested the driver had been drinking. The relative explained that Johnson was known to pick up discarded bottles along the roadside to resell, noting that this was likely the reason they were in the vehicle.
“Whenever we are driving, we just pick up those bottles and sell them. Some people even have a whole case of bottles in their cars. People were saying online that he was intoxicated, but that’s not true,” the relative said.
“…if the other children were up, he would probably have taken them all and taken them out as well. This man was like a brother to us. He would pick up bottles, sell them, and take the children anywhere they wanted to go. It didn’t matter what time it was; he never drank or misbehaved. If the children wanted something to eat, he would get it for them, no matter the hour,” the relative said.
Kenneth Johnson had five other children. Persons who wish to assist the grieving family can contact them via telephone (592) 641-4620.