PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, May 14, CMC –Several people, including a Jamaican national, lost their lives in a bloody weekend in Trinidad and Tobago, law enforcement officials here have confirmed.
Police said that Anthony Patrick Gayle of Kingston, Jamaica, who was sea-bathing with his girlfriend, in Arima, east of here, reportedly got into difficulties and drowned. Investigators said that Gayle arrived in Trinidad about three months ago and was seeking employment here..
They said that a 70-year-old pensioner was bludgeoned to death by her son on Mother’s Day after she had gone to his home at Barrackpore, south of here in an effort to patch up differences between them.
Relatives of Batia Ramsumair, said she believed her son, Basdeo Ragoobar, 47 would have softened his heart and reached out to her. But the mother of five suffered a deadly blow to the head, dying instantly.
Her son later committed suicide by drinking a poisonous substance.
Relatives said that the mother and son had been at odds over the ownership of a parcel of land.
Police are also investing the causes of several vehicular accidents that have claimed the lives of a number of people including a police constable.
The authorities said that Wayne Taylor died when his vehicle crashed into the median along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway on Sunday and that three men, including two brothers, were killed when the vehicle in which they were passengers crashed on a street in the heart of the capital.
Police said that 22 year-old Kevon and 20-year Anthony James as well as their 19-year-old cousin, Kerry Joseph were killed when the vehicle crashed in a wall during the early hours on Saturday.
Earlier, 28-year-old Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) employee, Dexter Ifill, was killed after the company vehicle he was driving struck a light pole and plunged into the sea at Sea Lots on the outskirts of the capital.
The non-government organisation, “Arrive Alive” said it is perturbed at the number of deaths caused by vehicular accidents in Trinidad and Tobago.
“What is most disturbing is the average age of six of the persons who died in the crashes is 27 years and 100 per cent were male,” said Brent Batson, director of Arrive Alive,w ho has reiterated his call for the authorities to play a greater role in helping to curb the escalating number of road accidents by launching road safety initiatives and enforcement strategies specifically targeting young males.
He said officials of the US-based road safety advocate group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is also scheduled to visit T&T in October to host a symposium targeting young drivers. The symposium is to be hosted by Jonathan Camacho’s Organisation for Road Safety and the National Road Safety Council.
Police are also investigating the death of Keston Paul, 23, whom they believe may have been involved in a shootout with another man, Nathaniel Hernandez, who later walked into Port-of-Spain General Hospital suffering from gunshot wounds.
