MP’s TWO SONS HURT IN DRAG CRASH

 ELEVEN youths, including two sons of a Member of Parliament, were injured when a car illegally drag racing ploughed into a group of persons in San Fernando early yesterday morning.

According to police reports, the crash occurred around 1am while a group of almost 100 spectators crowded the pavements along the Rienzi Kirton Highway and Cipero Street. Reports said a 19-year-old was driving a silver-grey Honda Civic when he lost control at the traffic light intersection near Skinner Park, where he ploughed into the spectators. Of the eleven injured, the most critically injured was Arun Ramdeen, 14, who was with UNC MP Chandresh Sharma’s two sons, Moonish, 13, and Devaan, ten, watching the racing. Also on the injured list were three brothers, Kerry Warner, 20; Kendell, 13; and Kirk, nine, all of Caratal Road, Gasparillo. They received injuries to their arms and legs and are warded in stable condition. Police have detained the driver of the drag racing car and expect to charge him with a series of driving offences, including ten counts of dangerous driving.

Ramdeen, of St John’s Trace, Avocat Village, Fyzabad is a close friend of the Sharmas. He suffered massive head injuries and is fighting for his life at the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). Little Devaan, witnesses said, was pitched into the air and landed in the sun-roof of the car. He escaped serious injury, with bruises and abrasions about his right eye, but is being kept at Ward 5 at SFGH. Newsday spoke to Fyzabad MP Sharma yesterday at the San Fernando Hospital. He came straight from Piarco Airport saying he had cut short his attendance at a conference in New Jersey, United States to return to his sons’ bedside. Sharma told Newsday: “It was about two in the morning when I got the call. I just immediately started packing and booked the first flight home.” His wife, Lynn, was on vacation in Canada and was due to return last night. The MP said he would be spending the night at the hospital. His sons’ cousin, Rajendra Sharma, 16, who was with Moonish and Devaan looking on at the illegal racing, said the three were at the Quik Shoppe at Cross Crossing with an older relative, Rudradeva, who went to fill gas in his car. While Rajendra was paying at the cashier, the boys slipped away and crossed the busy intersection to watch the races.

Rajendra recalled that shortly before the accident the driver was showing off in the road. “He (the driver) made a 180-degree turn and was flaunting his car,” Rajendra said. Newsday learned that the three Warner brothers went out to purchase barbeque and stopped for the first time to spectate the drag racing. Eyewitness Larry Lall recalled feeling “empty” when he saw the car lose control and “bodies flying in the air.” Lall said: “It was the worst thing I ever saw. Everybody just rush to see what going on and I tried to tell them to move away to give them (injured) some room to breathe.” Lall said a driver of a pick-up van put three persons in tray and rushed them to hospital. Another eyewitness, Sean Sookraj, recalled: “Everyone was standing around when he (the driver) ‘geared up’. The car just jumped onto the pavement. Everybody start to run and a lot of people got little lashes.” Eyewitnesses said that upon impact Ramdeen was pitched some ten feet into the air then crashed to the ground.  Within 15 minutes the police and ambulance arrived on the scene. Cpl Anthony Wolfe and PC Bishop of the San Fernando Traffic Branch are leading police investigations.