Five people, among them three foreigners died in three separate road accidents in Cocorite, Arouca and Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, between Monday night and yesterday afternoon.
Two of the foreigners remained unidentified up to late yesterday. The victims were: Sean Octive, 39, a Guyanese, living in Arouca. Ronald "Charlie" Ramcharitar, 29, of Benny Singh Street, Arouca. Dwayne "Massive" Adolph, 27, also of Benny Singh Street, Arouca. A Venezuelan woman, only identified as Gabriella. The fifth victim, a male foreigner, was knocked down on Wrightson Road late yesterday. Ramcharitar, Adolph and Gabriella were occupants of Toyota Corolla which crashed on the Western Main Road, Cocorite, shortly before midnight yesterday. They died at the scene. Octive, who lived in Arouca, died after he was struck by a red band maxi-taxi, while attempting to cross the Priority Bus Route near the traffic light intersection at Railway Road. The male foreigner was knocked down while attempting to cross Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, in the vicinity of National Flour Mills, shortly after 4pm yesterday. In the Cocorite accident, police said, Ramcharitar, the driver of the vehicle, was thrown onto the roadway. His head was almost severed, police said. Two other occupants of the vehicle, identified as Ryan Williams, 18, a student of the El Dorado Secondary School, and Tamika Lewis, 22, a Guyanese national were also injured.
Both remain warded in serious condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Police said Williams lived at Williams Street, Arouca, while Lewis lived at St Helena. One of Ramcharitar's brothers, Ricky, said his brother recently got the car from another brother as a birthday gift. He said up to yesterday, the family was not sure what exactly caused the crash. "We heard he (Ramcharitar) got a bad drive from another driver before the vehicle crash," Ricky said. "Soon after we heard about the accident, a police vehicle came to our house while we were getting ready to go to the scene and one of the officers told us my brother dead." He said the incident had badly affected the family, especially their mother. "We really frighten for her right now because she is a very sick person and she might take on the whole thing," Ricky said. "This morning one of my brothers had to be taken to hospital after he fell ill after hearing about the incident. "It really hard for us right now, but we are going to try and be strong and overcome this incident which has shaken our lives." Marissa Adolph, Dwayne's brother, said she was shocked and saddened over the incident.
She said she could not believe it was her brother, who originally hailed from La Brea, she saw at the scene of the accident. According to Marissa, Dwayne enjoyed going out and enjoying himself with his friends. "He was a joker who cracked plenty jokes and had us laughing," she said. "They used to lime a lot, almost every other night...He enjoyed having a good time." She said the last time she saw Dwayne alive was during the Divali holiday. "He came and brought the girls (Gabriella and Tamika). They (Dwayne and Ramcharitar) brought their girlfriends for us to see for the first time."
The Cocorite accident
According to police, Ramcharitar was driving east along the Western Main Road just before Peake when he lost control of the vehicle. The car touched the median, flipped several times and collided with a utility pole before crashing into a ditch off the roadway. Fire officers had to cut the vehicle to remove two of the victims from the wreckage.
The Arouca accident
Police said that around 8 pm, Octive was struck by the maxi-taxi, while attempting to cross the Priority Bus Route. He was thrown several feet into the air before landing on the roadway. He, too, died at the scene. Investigators said two passengers who were in the maxi–identified as Dianne Alvarez and Angela Guy–sustained minor injuries and were treated at hospital.
Sgt Juri and PC Pooran are investigating.
