- Mother remembers son killed in bike accident
Michael Nattoo – Staff Reporter
“I’d rub his head or his back every night before he went to sleep. He used to really like that, and most nights, he couldn’t sleep without it. He was a brilliant child too, always at the top of his class and always studying. He was also very kind and caring too… and he loved to cook. That’s why it’s hard to go into the kitchen again… because he would always be there with me.” For Kerene Scott, those memories have been the only breaks in her pain these days, as she knows her son, the once promising Simon Guthrie, will never again be home. He was mowed down by a reckless motorcyclist – an act which has left a deep sadness in its wake.
“He told me he would soon be back… you know?” Scott shared in between sobs during an interview with the Western Mirror. “He told me he would just be gone for a little while, that it was one of his friends’ birthday, and he was just going to look for them and return home because it was a school night.” Coincidentally, Simon’s birthday was just three days away – January 18. He would have been 17.
That night, Wednesday, January 15, while walking to go see his friend, Guthrie was hit by one of two bikers racing along the Orange Bay main road leading to Negril. His leg was partially severed in the process.
DANGEROUS RACING
“How can they be racing on such a busy roadway? It’s something they do almost every night, but it’s very dangerous. It makes no sense. That road is one of the busiest – pedestrians are always walking on it, cars are always reversing or turning… I don’t get it. I really don’t,” Scott lamented.
According to information she received from observers, the bike that hit Guthrie had its lights turned off – a practice, Scott explained, which stems from bikers wanting to show their dominance or mastery of the street. “When they are winning the race, they usually turn off their lights to sort of show off. I heard that my son was crossing the road at that point, so he couldn’t see what was coming. That’s when he was hit.”
Scott had just come from work and was preparing for bed, so when her phone rang, she didn’t think it would have been an emergency. “It was one of his cousins. He told me that something was wrong, and asked if I was sitting down. I started to get worried. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn’t tell me initially.” After pressing, Scott was told that Simon had just been involved in a bike accident, and that things “didn’t look good”.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was panicking. I quickly put on a dress and ran down to the road,” Guthrie said, adding that she could hear the commotion as she approached. When she got to the scene, instead of getting him immediate help, bystanders had their phones out videoing the badly injured teenager, who was bleeding profusely.
‘THEY WERE VIDEOING HIM’
“His friends rushed in to get him help, but most of the people there took their phones out and were videoing him. They were taking pictures of my son bleeding. He was bleeding so much,” Scott recalled through her tears. “I wish people would stop that. I wish they would help someone in need instead of videoing them.”
Guthrie was rushed to a nearby hospital, and Scott followed closely behind. “When I got to the hospital, as soon as I reached, I could hear my baby crying. I could hear him. He was yelling, ‘What are you doing with my foot?!” I yelled out to him and he heard me. I told him I loved him, and he said, ‘I hear you mommy’. The next day, he was transported to Cornwall Regional [Hospital]. His leg had to be cut off because it was basically all torn off in the accident.”
A GOOD SON
“The doctors told me he needed blood, otherwise, he wouldn’t make it. So, I called everyone I could. But it didn’t work. When I went in to see my son, he was on a life support machine. I rested my hand on his heart, and held it there, and prayed for him. I felt his heartbeat, until I didn’t feel it anymore. That’s when I knew he was gone. The doctors said he lost too much blood.”
Guthrie wanted to be an accountant, and was always the kind of person to look out for those around him. “He would always tell me that he’s going to take care of me. That’s why he would always try to cook for me whenever he saw me in the kitchen. He really cared about his family and his friends. He loved his three siblings too. It’s just been hard on everyone. I don’t know what I’m feeling, and I don’t know how to get through it. I don’t know if I ever will. Everything I did was for my children, and now, with Simon gone, I don’t know what to do.”
Scott wants the world to remember her son for who he was: a loving person, a family man, and a good friend. Scott was a student of the Rhodes Hall High School.
The police are investigating.