-arrest made
THE LIFE of overseas-based Guyanese, Jermaine Forrester, 23, who had a promising future in the music industry, was snuffed out early yesterday morning in a hit-an-run accident on a New Jersey street in the USA.
The only son of Guyanese Joy Forrester-Mason, who also resides in the US, Jermaine was pronounced dead at the scene.
News of his death has sent shockwaves throughout the Guyanese community, both in New Jersey and in New York where he lives and is popular in the music arena, the Chronicle has learnt.
According to a CBS Jersey City report, police made an arrest mere hours after the accident. Forrester, the report stated, was crossing the street when the accident occurred, and when Jersey City police arrived at the intersection of RT 139 and Bevan Street at around 12:30am, they found him sprawled on the ground.
A witness at the scene, cab driver Youseff  Jaffar, who tried to help, was quoted as saying: “He told me his name was Jermaine. He kept yelling ‘Jermaine, Jermaine, Jermaine.’
Jaffar said: “I’m just driving behind the vehicle, and the vehicle kept moving. I wanted to see what was going on; I see a gentleman in the middle of the street just laying there.”
The CBS report further stated that residents who did not see the accident were not surprised to learn it happened at the intersection.
“It’s a speedway,” said Jimmy McNamee, a Jersey City resident. “It’s like the Indianapolis 500 along here.”
The driver of the vehicle which is alleged to have killed Forrester, was identified as John Dineen of Harrington Park in Bergen County. He was stopped about four hours later, driving a damaged black SUV in Rivervale, N.J.
“He did stop the vehicle, and he observed a driver and a passenger,” Dep. Chief Peter Nalbach of the Jersey City Police Department said of the officer that stopped Dineen. “He did sense an alcoholic beverage in the car.”
Dineen, who initially denied being involved in an accident, but said his vehicle was impounded anyway, has since been charged with ‘death by automobile’ and ‘failure to render aid to an injured party’, the new paper report stated.
Noting that it is a first-degree crime, since police have also charged Dineen with DWI, the Police were further reported as saying that the driver was speeding when he struck Forrester. He failed a sobriety test.
Forrester leaves to mourn, a sister, numerous friends and relatives, including his aunt, Rita Forrester, known for the popular Guyanese music, `Christmastime Is Here’ and `I’ve Been Crying All The Time’, along with Barbados-based uncle, Phillip Forrester of the popular `For de People’ band.
When the Chronicle made contact with a Guyana-based uncle, Reynold Forrester, called ‘Whiskey’, he was still trying to come to grips with the news, which he received about 05.35h yesterday.
According to Reynold, who lives in West Ruimveldt, when the telephone rang, he immediately indicated to his wife his dislike of telephone calls at that hour, only to have his worst fears realized upon talking to his brother in Barbados, who was on the other end of the line.
Reynold recalled his dead nephew leaving Guyana at a very tender age for Barbados, where he initially attended a private school before moving on to the prestigious Harrison College where he excelled as a student and earned himself a distinction in English.
“Music ran through his blood just like the rest of us in the family, and it hurts to see my nephew leave us this way, when he had so much to offer,” he said.