Reporter
carisa.lee@cnc3.co.tt
Kerissa Dowrich spent the last three years, preparing for the moment when she would finally receive her degree and cross the stage in front of her loved ones as a university graduate.
But just over a week shy of the ceremony, the 22-year-old died in a car crash along the South Trunk Road, La Romain.
She was buried in her graduation dress on October 19.
Yesterday, the graduation ceremony at UWI, St Augustine, came to pause as there was a moment of silence for Dowrich.
Fellow students, their relatives and officials in attendance remembered her during the presentation of graduates for the faculties of Science and Technology and Food & Agriculture.
Dowrich would have received her BSc in Information Technology and minor in International Relations with honours.
Her friend Arianna Ramoutar, who graduated with a Bachelor’s in Information Technology, said she and Dowrich embarked on their tertiary education journey together.
“All three years, we did group projects together,” Ramoutar said as she hugged her mother and wept.
She described Dowrich as sunshine, someone who was always smiling and able to cheer up anyone’s bad day.
Two other friends Selena Madray and Neha Maharaj said she was a hard worker, which made her absence even more heart-wrenching.
“She was always very involved, she was very smart as well, I enjoyed working on projects with her, she pulled her weight, she did more than what was necessary sometimes,” Madray said.
“When we wouldn’t come to class and some of our friends wouldn’t come to class and Kerissa would be in class and let us know what’s going on. She was just that kind of person, kind person, very compassionate and she was just very nice to us,” Maharaj added.
And even though Dowrich was not there in person, on the slight chance that she might be listening from above her friends wanted to let her know that she was missed.
“We wish you were here, we are very proud of you, all of your friends and we miss you,” Maharaj and Madray said.
“We did it girl, we did it,” Ramoutar added.
Police reports stated that around 11:31 pm on October 14, a pick-up van crashed into the left side of a Toyota Aqua as the driver attempted to merge onto the southern lane of the South Trunk Road. This caused both vehicles to lose control and collide with the metal barriers along the roadway.
Police and Ambulance responded and found Dowrich dead in the driver’s seat.
Yesterday, the second victim in that crash succumbed to his injuries.
Police said 18-year-old Dominic Cardinal died at the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital where he had been treated since the accident.