National awardee urges Jamaicans to help others in need

Tiffany Edwards, the 29-year-old woman who helped to save the life of a motor vehicle crash victim, is urging fellow Jamaicans to refrain from capturing photos and videos of those in distress. She implores them to choose compassionate action by offering assistance instead.

"It is better to ensure the person is stable first and get additional help rather than record because in that time frame a person's life could have been saved. It is even worse to try steal from someone who is already in a level of distress. It would be a better thing to take the phone and alert someone," Edwards said.

A phlebotomist at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Edwards was on Heroes Day awarded the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service during the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards, held on the lawns of King's House in St Andrew. She was bestowed with the honour for her life-saving intervention at the scene of a crash in February 2022. On the day in question, she was on her way to work when she noticed a crowd on the scene of a motor vehicle crash in the vicinity of Jamaica College in St Andrew.

A woman was trapped in the car.

"Some people were trying to take her out, but because I work in accident and emergency, and I do first-aid, I know that when things like that happen you don't pull the person because you can cause additional damage," Edwards related.

She then made contact with a doctor at UHWI and asked for guidance on how to assist the woman, who also works at the hospital. She also made contact with the transportation department and requested an ambulance. In addition to using her medical knowledge to assist the woman, Edwards also secured the crash victim's belongings.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Edward's story is "an inspiring example of how we can help each other and make our country better in the process".

Holness lauded Edwards for her "selfless service" and "remarkable willingness to serve". For her part, Edwards has urged her fellow men not to refrain from offering assistance to persons in need.

"Not because you are not a nurse or a doctor means you must not assist. If you have a certain level of knowledge apply it with caution, or use the resources available to you to assist persons," she stated.

Edwards is humbled to have been awarded the badge of honour.

"I felt so appreciated and grateful," she said. "To be around so many people of high standards who have served their community and country, I felt good to be a part of that. ... So many of them and I was singled out by the prime minister, that's a big thing," she said.