The sad and sombre mood at the funeral for 21-year-old Simone Ford got worse on Saturday when OJ Gardener, the girl's elderly godfather, died during the service.

THE STAR was told the man, who is believed to be in his early 80s and suffers from heart trouble, fainted at the Snowden Anglican Church, Manchester, where the funeral for Ford was underway.

Police from the Cross Keys Police Station told THE STAR that the justice of the peace was inside the church when he took a deep breath and fainted. When checks were made, it was discovered that Morgan had passed away.

sudden death

The police said they were called to the scene and they have recorded Morgan's passing as a case of sudden death.

A resident of the nearby Rose Hill community told THE STAR that Morgan was a well respected member of the community. "He was a good JP and he signed the papers for me to go to college. He was very well known. He attended St Patrick's Anglican Church."

Simone Ford was one of four young persons killed on June 12, when the car they were travelling in slammed into a wall and burst into flames. She was a student of the Edna Manley School of Visual and Performing Arts and was from Lancaster district in the parish. Also killed in the accident were Richard Suckie, 23, of Marshall's district; Roshay Young, 20, of *la*hmfield Gardens and Roberta Milton, 21, of Poinsettia Terrace.

Police said about 4 a.m., Suckie was driving a 2005 Mazda RX-8 motor car with the three women aboard. On reaching a section of the roadway he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a wall. The impact caused the car to burst into flames burning the occupants to death.