The grandmother of a 17-year-old boy, who was knocked down on the highway on Independence Day, is calling for answers from the person who hit her grandson and then drove away.
Charmaine Greaves said her grandson, Enrique Greaves, is now on life support at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope.
Enrique was struck by a car around 2 pm on August 31, while selling water on the eastbound lane of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway at the traffic lights near the Macoya Wholesale market.
During an interview at her Tunapuna home, Greaves said she only learnt of the accident the following day.
Unable to get any answers from the Tunapuna Police Station, Greaves said her daughter posted about the accident on social media, asking for anyone with information to come forward.
A woman who witnessed the accident and later stayed with Enrique until an ambulance arrived reached out, providing Greaves with some of the answers she was seeking.
“There is one main witness, I don’t know if she will come forward but she told us he was on the white line by the traffic light by Macoya Market, the light was red when he was there and when the light turned green, this vehicle come from out of the blue and hit him from the front. He get hit on the belly, he went up in the air, she (the driver) parked on the other side of the highway, she got out, maybe to watch the damage to the vehicle, she didn’t walk back to see who she hit and that is how it going up until now,” Greaves said.
The grandmother said the female driver later went to the Tunapuna Police Station, where the vehicle is currently impounded.
However, Greaves said all the attempts Enrique’s mother made to get more information from the police have proved fruitless.
“They told his mother he could be charged, how could he be charged if he is the victim? And so many people selling on the highway, this happening for years…it does good for a lot of people, people look forward to these vendors on the highway,” Greaves said.
She has been caring for Enrique since he was 12 years old, when his father, her son Eric Greaves, was killed.
Greaves said she shares the responsibility with Enrique’s mother, as the two remained close over the years.
“My son got murdered in 2016, a group of guys hit him with a stone in his head and left him for dead, we found him three days later. At that time, Enrique was 12 years old. Monday was the six-year anniversary of his father’s death…His father only had him, that is all he left for me, he didn’t leave a bag of money or a big house, he left one grandchild who I cherish,” she said.
Greaves is hoping CCTV footage from the Macoya Market can assist in revealing the truth of the incident. She also wants to meet the driver who has left her oldest grandson in a coma.
“I want the cameras to talk and I want to meet this person to ask why did you leave the scene and never come to my grandson’s assistance? I want justice… it’s not about money because we are not under poverty.”
She said Enrique did not need to work selling water but he has an entrepreneurial spirit.
“He always want to sell something, we would give him money but he wanted his own and he was never interested in the thiefing thing... he always said he didn’t want to end up in jail.”
She described Enrique as a good cook and a hard worker. Greaves said on Saturday night she spent several hours praying with him.
Although his medical condition is bleak, the grandmother believes he will live.
Guardian Media made several attempts to contact the police for a response to the claims made by Greaves and for an update on the investigation, but none was received.