Point Fortin MP Kennedy Richards Jr urged motorists to obey the speed limit on the newly opened Archibald-De Leon Highway following a fatal vehicular accident on Friday night.
Hours before Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley opened new segments of the highway, Ottis Roach, 29, of La Brea, and an unidentified woman died in a two-car smash-up.
Richards Jr, a pilot, appealed to motorists to be conscious, cautious and obey the rules when driving on the road.
“Unfortunately, we had an accident there sometime in the wee hours of this morning and I want to ask the drivers, whether it be taxi drivers or the regular community, to obey the rules. Obey the rules of the road. Leave the flying to me. Obey rules that are 100 km,” he said.
“It is not for racing or drag racing,” he said.
Keeghan Baptiste, 33, of South Oropouche, was driving his black Mitsubishi Lancer with Telson Ross, 35, of La Brea, in the passenger seat around 11.20 pm, when in the vicinity of #8 Road, Baptiste saw Roach’s grey Nissan Sunny B15 heading towards his car. The vehicles collided, with Roach and the woman dying on impact. Baptiste and Ross suffered severe injuries, and an ambulance took them to the Point Fortin Hospital.
Twenty minutes earlier, PC Sooklal was driving a marked police vehicle with PC Balkaran and WPC Cooper of the South Western Division Gender-Base Unit accompanying him.
A white SUV pulled alongside as they travelled along the highway near Rousillac, and an occupant fired several gunshots. PC Sooklal lost control and crashed into a ditch. The officers were rushed to hospital.
Investigators found bullet holes in the driver’s side door, one on the door glass, and one on the left passenger door glass. They also found two spent 9mm casings on the roadway._KF
