St. JAMES, JAMAICA: Norwood tragedy - 5-y-o boy, Jonathan Ward dies in mysterious car fire...The boy's death was particularly painful for his grandmother, Linnette Perry, as she was attending her brother's funeral at the time of the tragedy.

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 01, 2014    

NORWOOD, St James — A St James family is now in mourning after a five-year-old boy died in a fire that engulfed a parked motor car in his yard Saturday afternoon.

The fire, which claimed the life of Jonathan Ward, also called Rushie, has left family members puzzled.

5-y-o boy, Jonathan Ward and sad grieving grandmother

According to them, shortly after midday Jonathan and one of his cousins were in the house at Nelly Lane in Norwood playing video games before they went outdoors.

Uchema Hemmings, a young family member, said she was inside the house when the car burst into flames. She said that efforts to rescue the boy from the blazing motor vehicle proved futile as the heat was unbearable.

Family and community members eventually managed to smash one of the windows after they brought the blaze under control using buckets of water and sand.

Yesterday, when the Jamaica Observer visited the scene, family members theorised that the boy locked himself inside the vehicle before it was gutted by the fire.

The boy's death was particularly painful for his grandmother, Linnette Perry, as she was attending her brother's funeral at the time of the tragedy.

"The death has left the family stranded. Is a little boy who give a lot of trouble, but otherwise he is helpful. He is missed by family and missed by strangers because is a loving little boy," Perry moaned. "Mi caan believe. Mi caan eat, mi caan drink, mi caan sleep. It is sad."

Her granddaughter, Uchema, was equally distraught. more