The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BERNARD Walkine got the call that no parent would like to receive – it was a call that his son had been struck and killed on the road by a vehicle.

Joshua Walkine, 32, of Holmes Rock, was walking when the accident occurred just a few miles from his home.

The father of four raced to the scene, but there was nothing that he or anyone could do. Joshua had died at the scene.

“I am coping because of the grace of God,” said the preacher. “He was my second oldest child and my first son.”

“We preach to people and tell them they got to be strong, and now you have to preach to yourself because it is to your door,” said Apostle Walkine, the pastor of True Vine Deliverance Ministry.

Pastor Walkine got a call around 5am on Saturday, September 9, from a man who saw what happened and stopped to assist.

“He called and said he recognized Joshua on the floor. He was behind the driver that had run over him.”

The man had parked his vehicle on the road to prevent other vehicles from running over the body.

“I thank God for him doing that,” Mr Walkine said.

The vehicle that struck his son had stopped some distance away, he recalled.

On Tuesday, Mr Walkine and his family officially identified their loved one’s body.

Police are continuing their investigation into the accident.

According to preliminary reports, the driver of a sedan vehicle was travelling in a westerly direction on Queens Highway when he rolled over an object in the road.

When the driver got out to check, he saw the lifeless body of a male lying in the street.

Mr Walkine said his son usually walked in the area. He would walk from their home in Holmes Rock to Seagrape, Eight Mile Rock.

According to the family, Joshua had been diagnosed a few years ago with schizophrenia, but was not consistent with taking his meds.

“I usually watched him; he worked with me and if I see or detect certain changes in his actions, I would try to get him to the hospital,” he said.

Mr Walkine said his son was very active in the church. He played the drums and sang on the praise team.

“His passion was music and singing, and he was loving and kind-hearted. He was a gem,” his father said.

Diandrea Pinder said they are trying to deal with their grief and loss.

“This is the first very close loss to our family and so there are no words to describe it,” she said.

“It has been an emotional roller coaster for us, and trying to figure out what exactly happened and to make sense out of it because there have been lots of rumours going around.”

Ms Pinder said her brother, Joshua, was very talented.

“He ministered through song and loved singing, and was an excellent drummer.

“Most people knew him as someone with mental challenges or someone just walking the road, but the Joshua we knew when he was himself was a very quiet soft-spoken person who stayed to himself.”

Bernnia Walkine will miss her brother.

“He was funny, and we would always sing together. We never expected this would happen to our family,” she said.

“What I will miss most is us being together as a whole family; he is the missing piece,” she said.

Mr Walkine said he is at peace knowing that Joshua is resting with the Lord.