Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
Great-grandfather Chankar Singh, at 83 years old, was in good health. Unfortunately, Singh was fatally struck by a car as he tried to cross the highway in Gasparillo to get to his home on Friday.
Singh lived at Ramdass Street off Charles Street, which runs parallel to the highway. On Friday, he went to San Fernando to visit a doctor to check his eye. A month ago, he underwent a cataract procedure in one of his eyes.
He was accustomed to travelling on his own. However, on his way home around 3.30 pm, he dropped off along the northbound lane of the Solomon Hohcoy Highway.
While crossing the road, a Tiida driven by a woman struck him. Shortly before 7 pm, he succumbed to his injuries at the San Fernando General Hospital.
In an interview at their Ramdass Street home, Singh’s granddaughter, Priya Seepersad, said she was about to do laundry when she got the tragic news.
“We run out the road. He was lying on the highway. He was still alive, he was breathing but unconscious.”
She recalled that the police were on the scene. She could not say whether it was the first time he chanced crossing the highway. She said her grandfather, a devout Hindu, loved travelling and sightseeing.
“He used to travel and go in the bus and see places.”
Acknowledging that it is dangerous to cross the highway, she did not want to speculate on whether the driver was speeding. However, she said generally motorists need to exercise more caution on the nation’s roads.
Singh was the father of four children (two deceased), seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Seepersad said her mother (Singh’s sister) lived abroad and would not be able to attend his funeral. Funeral arrangements will be finalised next week. St Margaret’s police are investigating.
