Man denies robbing driver

Anthony Smith, 22, of Jamadar Street, San Fernando was in severe pain at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday, his neck supported by a brace. But lucky to be alive. Not so lucky was his liming partner, Ryan Rampersad, who died days after they were both slammed by a car driven by a man police suspect was drunk. The man reported to the police that Rampersad and Smith had tried to rob him, which is why he went after them with his car. That man is now in police custody and a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. According to Smith, he and Rampersad were slammed unconscious while walking along the Gasparillo Road by a white Laser car around 3 am Sunday. Rampersad of Williamsville died in hospital Wednesday.

Supported by a neck brace as he lay in his hospital bed, Smith told Newsday he also suffered a fractured right foot and cuts to his ears which required eight stitches. He recalled the horror that occurred on Sunday morning. Smith said he and Rampersad partied Saturday night at a friend’s home at Norman Junction, Gasparillo. They had a meal at the KFC outlet at Gasparillo Junction and then began walking along the road in the direction of the Silver Bridge. “We saw a car parked before the bridge and the driver was slumped over the wheel,” Smith told Newsday. He said as he and Rampersad walked past the car they asked the driver if he was all right and if everything was okay. After getting no reply from the driver, Smith said they continued walking when they were alerted by the lights of a car approaching from behind.

“I just got this feeling to turn back and I saw a bright car light coming towards us,” Smith said. Yesterday he was unable to recall what happened next. All he knew was that he woke up in a hospital bed and kept asking for his friend Rampersad. He was shocked to learn that Rampersad had died and that the driver of the car had reported to the police that he fell asleep in his car and was attacked and robbed by two men with a broken bottle. The car driver also told the police two men stole his car keys and threw them over the bridge into the water. “I am no bandit. My mother taught me how to live when I don’t have,” Smith said.

Smith was being guarded by police at the hospital since the incident, but yesterday he was informed that he was not a suspect in the investigations of the alleged robbery attempt reported by the driver of the car. Smith said he was not robbed of anything while he lay unconscious at the side of the road. “Rampersad’s relatives told me that thieves stole all of Rampersad’s valuables, including his jersey,” Smith said. Gasparillo police confirmed receiving a report that Rampersad was robbed of cash as he lay unconscious at the side of the road. Smith said he was not interested in saying anything to the driver of the car. He just wants to recover quickly.

After man rammed 2 men with car —
Cops waiting on DPP to press charges

UP to late yesterday, police were awaiting instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions, Geoffery Henderson, to determine if any charges were to be laid against a driver who knocked down two men early Sunday morning. One of the men, Ryan Rampersad, 26, of Williamsville, died at hospital following the incident and the other man, Anthony Smith, is warded at San Fernando General Hospital. However, police believe the suspect would more than likely be charged with the murder of Rampersad. The suspect could also face another charge of reckless driving and wounding Smith, of Jamadar Street, San Fernando.

Up to yesterday, police investigators had the 32-year-old suspect detained at Gasparillo Police Station, where they took a statement from him on how the incident actually occurred near the Gasparillo Junction around 3 am Sunday. Police said that according to the suspect, he was asleep in his car, which was parked on Harmony Hall Road in Gasparillo, when two men accosted him with a broken bottle. His report stated that one of the men placed the broken bottle at his neck and robbed him of TT$60 and US$5. The men then took away the keys to his car and threw them over a bridge into a river.

Police said yesterday the suspect also reported he used a tool to start the car. He then admitted to driving off in his car in pursuit of the two men. Police said the suspect told them that he drove his car into the men who were walking at the side of the road in Gasparillo. According to the police report the suspect then drove to his home in Tarouba Village, near San Fernando. Police also said yesterday the suspect’s uncle took him to the Gasparillo Police Station on Sunday morning. Police have also obtained a statement from the uncle.

Relatives say Ryan was no bandit

By RHONDOR DOWLAT

PARENTS of deceased Ryan Rampersad in Williamsville were mum yesterday about how their son met his death, but categorically denied that he was “a bandit.” Rampersad and a co-worker at the Kiss Baking Company, Anthony Smith, were deliberately knocked down by a driver in Gasparillo, who reported to police that two men had robbed him.When Newsday visited Rampersad’s relatives yesterday, the first words uttered by his grandmother, Ameena Khan, was, “Ask anyone in the village if my son is a bandit.” She sat below the family’s house and unable to conceal her grief, sobbed, “He was a good boy and everybody loved him.” Residents in the sleepy Kumar Village have also poured out their hearts for the man they described as loving and kind.

This was evident during the wake held for Rampersad Wednesday night, hours after he died at San Fernando General Hospital. Villagers turned out in such large numbers, relatives said, that there was hardly room in the family’s front yard. Relatives said employees of the Kiss Baking Company also turned out in large numbers for the wake and cried openly. Ryan’s father Sunil Rampersad declined to speak about the incident in which police have arrested the driver of the car which knocked down his son, but he complained bitterly about his son being referred to as a bandit.