“I hope he knew he was loved, even though I was hard on him at times. I had to be because I loved him dearly.”
Those thoughts have run through Jessiephine McHayle’s mind since she got the tragic news that her son, Kieron Watler, had died in a collision minutes away from their home.
“I dropped him by his father’s house, and by the time I arrived home, I got the call. ‘I think Kieron was in an accident,’ they said. ‘You need to come quickly,’” McHayle told the Compass before she recounted answering a knock at her front door, and receiving a bouquet of white flowers and a card of sympathy – the third one of the day.
According to police, the collision occurred shortly after 6:20am on Tuesday, 25 April, along Walkers Road in the vicinity of Memorial Avenue, when the motorcycle Watler was riding and an Isuzu Elf truck collided.
Police say the truck driver, a 53-year-old George Town man, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving in connection with Watler’s death.
“When I went to see him at the hospital, it was as if he was smiling and asleep. He was cold, but I could feel his presence and I knew he was at peace,” said McHayle.
At 28 years old, Watler’s dreams and hopes of becoming an entrepreneur and starting a family were dashed, leaving his loved ones searching for answers.
“I don’t know why, but God knew it was his time, and I trust and believe that God is taking care of him right now,” said McHayle, as she sat with her only daughter, Signy Watler, 26, looking through old photographs of her only son.
Early troubles
A devout Christian, McHayle remembers praying fervently for God’s protection for her two children as she tried to shelter them from the ills of the surrounding community.
“There were so many things that stood in his way as he grew up, and I now understand that some of those things were spiritual and the battle wasn’t for me, but for God,” she said, noting that Watler had his fair share of troubles as a young child in school.
“His mother was the one that was always calm and understanding; I was the one that wanted to grab the teacher across the desk for messing with my little Kieron,” said McHayle’s sister, Dona Sanderson-Richards. They were joined by their three other sisters, each of whom had fond memories of their nephew.
“I have a son that’s two months older than Kieron, so they grew up like twins and were practically inseparable,” said Nola Sanderson. “Kieron was very a well-mannered young man who was smart and knew what he stood for. It’s just sad that after 28 years and four months, all we have left are memories.”
Sanderson-Richards added, “I will always remember when he said, ‘Look aunty, muscles!’ He was flexing, but the poor thing didn’t have an ounce of muscle on those tiny arms. Oh, how I laughed.”
Despite their grief, the women have not expressed any animosity towards the driver.
“I have left it in God’s hands,” McHayle said. “The driver must be going through his own ordeal, and we don’t know what that is like. “Who knows? Maybe Kieron’s death was what is needed for the driver to find God, if he hasn’t already.”
But while the grief at Watler’s mother’s house was bittersweet and nostalgic, slightly different emotions of pain were felt a stone’s throw away at his father’s house.
“I couldn’t sleep last night, I have a headache right now and I’m sure I won’t be sleeping tonight,” said Kirt Watler. “I just keep thinking, someone killed my son and, trust me, you don’t want to know what’s going through my mind.”
Looking through his phone, he read over his WhatsApp conversation with his son, with the last message from Kieron telling him that he was outside – to which he replied to call the next time because messages wouldn’t wake him up.
“Can you imagine? He was trying so hard to find a job, and he just got this one two weeks ago, and was on his way to work when this happened,” he said. “We were supposed to go fishing this Saturday, but I guess that won’t be happening now.”
Watler’s untimely death triggered a wave of shock and sympathy throughout the community with hundreds taking to social media to express their condolences and recall fond interactions with him. It also elicited tributes to the young man and condolences to his family by legislators in the House of Parliament on Wednesday.
Safer roads and harsher penalties
Watler’s death is the third traffic fatality in the space of two months and has served to intensify the focus on making Cayman’s roads safer for all cyclists and pedestrians.
“We need harsher penalties; people need to be charged with vehicular manslaughter, not this causing death by careless or dangerous driving,” said Sanderson. “We are talking about people’s lives here.”
“They don’t respect cyclists or pedestrians or anybody really on the roads,” said Kirt Watler. “Something has to be done; it just can’t go on like this.”
Successive governments have, over the years, commissioned various reports on how to make Cayman’s streets safer for all road users. While there have been incremental improvements, such as bicycle lanes on some roads and green right-of-way signs on others, there is still a long way to go before the desired ‘complete streets’ are achieved, which means, for now, Watler is the latest casualty of an ongoing issue.
“I hope this is a wake-up call for his friends and other young people, to serve God, because tomorrow is not promised to anyone, no matter how young or beautiful,” said McHayle.
“But more than anything I really hope he knew just how much he was loved.”
Related Videos
